V ■

Date Due


















































































































































Llt>r»ry Bureau Cat. no. i!37



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'I



y't/- /2 -'i



THE AMATEUR SERIES.
xitno. Blue cloth.



ON AOTOES AND THE AKT OF ACTING.

By George Henry Lewes.

THE LITE OF J. M. W. TUENEE, E.A. :

Founded on Letters and Papers furnished by his Friends
and Fellow-Academicians. With illustrations facsimiled
in colors, from Turner's original drawings. By Walter
Thornbury. $2.75.

AET LIFE AND THEOEIES OF EIOHAED WAGNEE:

Selected from his writings and translated by Edward L,
Burlingame. With a Preface, a Catalogue of Wagner's
published works, and drawings of the Bayreuth Opera
House. $2.00.

EEOENT MUSIO AND MTTSIOIANS:

As described in the Diaries and Correspondence of Ignaz
Moscheles. Selected by his wife, and adapted from the
original German by A. D. Coleridge. $2.00.

EEOENT AET AND SOCIETY:

As descriljed in the Autobiography and Memoirs of Henry
Pothergill Chorley. Compiled from the Edition of Henry
G. Hewlett, by C. H. Jones. $2.00.

AUTOBIOGEAPHY AND MUSICAL GEOTESQUES.

By Hector Berlioz. Translated by W. F. Apthorp. $2.00.

IfENRY HOLT &- CO.,

New York.



A MA TE UR SERIES.



Recent Music and Musicians

As Described ift the Diaries and Corresp07idence

OF

IGNATZ MOSCHELES

EDITED BY HIS WIFE
AND ADAPTED FROM THE ORIGINAL GERMAN BY

A. D. COLERIDGE




NEW YORK

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY

1879



11136



THIS VOLUME

(adapted from the GERMAN)

IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED



SIR JOHN DUKE COLERIDGE,

ATTORNEY-GENERAL OF ENGLAND,

HIMSELF A LOVER OF MUSIC,

AND ON MANY OCCASIONS
ITS ELOQUENT ADVOCATE AND SUPPORTER.



PREFACE



THE reader will find in the following pages a truthful
record of the life and works of Moscheles, as also
a chronicle of the musical history of his time ; for from
the year i8 14 up to the date of his death, he rarely omit-
ted to enter in his diary reflections, more or less minute,
on events that interested him. These entries, supple-
mented by letters from Moscheles and his wife to relatives
and friends, are the groundwork of this Biography. Mos-
cheles frequently expressed a wish that his art experi-
ences, ranging over a period of nearly sixty years, as well
as his relations to his musical contemporaries, should be
published after his death. During his lifetime he entrust
ed to his wife the task of remodelling these notes, makings
many additions with his own hand.

It was his habit to communicate and explain to hei
his opinions and views on all subjects, so that she has
been able to retain in her memory much that was not
committed to writing. He hoped, in case she should sur-
vive him, by these means to have prepared her for carry-
ing out his favorite object. The wish of a dear one taken
from us is sacred, far above all personal feelings and petty
considerations ; the editor therefore, although not with-



vi PREFACE,

out diffidence, undertakes the arduous task as a duty be-
queathed to her. Others might perhaps have done the
work better, none with such reverential love.

May this book faithfully and impartially represent to
the art-world Moscheles as an artist, and may it recall to
his friends the picture of a friend.

♦ Charlotte Moscheles.



N O TK.



My best thanks are due to Felix Moscheles, Esq., not
only for the advice and generous assistance he has given
me in the revision of the following pages, but for much
specitic mformation gathered from his father's manuscripts
and valuable collection of autographs, both musical and
literary. Among these are such miscellaneous treasures
as sketch-books of Beethoven, manuscript music of Sebas-
tian Bach, Mozart, Weber, and Mendelssohn, and ? cor-
respondence, as yet unpublished, between Moscheles and
Mendelssohn.

For the versions of the two poems by Heine and Cas-
telli, I am indebted to my friend, that distinguished schol-
ar and humorist, Charles Steuart Calverly, Esq.

A. D. Coleridge.



CONTENTS.



CHAPTER L
1794— 1814.

PAGS

Early Recollections — Musical Instinct — Too Quick for his Music-
master — Indiscreet Friends — Beethoven Fever — A Pupil of
' Dionys Weber — A Candid Opinion— On the Wrong Road —
Tomaschek — First Visit to the Opera House — Death of Mos-
cheles' Father — First Appearance in Public — Vienna — The
Baroness Eskeles — Curious Attestatum — Beethoven — Saiieri. I

CHAPTER II.
1814— 1816.

Moscheles' Diary — Meyerbeer — Beethoven — Celebration of the
Liberation of Germany — Compositions — Sonate Melanchol-
ique — Pupils — Habits of Study — Artistic Circle — Connection
with Beethoven — Congress of Verona — Imperial Festivities —
Musical Entertainments — The Countess Hardegg — Alexander
Valuations — Amusing Incident — Visit to Prague — The Lud-
lamshcihle — Moscheles and Hummel — Karlsbad — Schumann. 8

CHAPTER III.

1816— 1821.

Impressions of Leipzig — Conversation with Beethoven — Schicht
— Professor Schulze — Gewandhaus Concerts — Classig's
Coffee-House — Moscheles' Concert — Concert at Altenburg —
Dresden — Spontini's " Vestalin" at the Opera — Introduction
to the Artistic World — Goethe and Music— Anecdote of
Haydn — Performance before the Court — Intrigues of Polledro
— Munich — Excursion to Holland — Musical Life in Brussels
—Paris— Spphr 18



X CONTENTS,

CHAPTER IV.

1821.

tAGB

Baron Poifere de Cere — Spohr — Gall the Phrenologist — Diary of
a Day — Concert at the Theatre Favart — Soirees with Lafont
— Concerts Spirituels — A Curious Bet — An Evening at Ciceri's
— The Theatres of Paris — Christening of the Duke of Bor-
deaux — Mistaken for a Courier — London — A Learned
Waiter — Musical Celebrities — Her Majesty's Theatre —
Braham — Soirees and Concerts — Visit to Kalkbrenner — The
Erards — August Leo 26

CHAPTER V.

1822.

Malzel's Metronome — New Work by Beethoven — Mile. Mock
(Madame Pleyel) — Concert at Rouen — London — Cramer's
Concert — A New Workof Moscheles — Broadwood's Pianos —
F, Cramer — London Rehearsals — Bochsa the Harp-player —
Monster Programme — Fashionable Soirees — Concert for the
Poor Irish — Excursion to Brighton — At Home in England , 41

CHAPTER VL

1823.

Visit to Bath — Lady Pupils — Quid pro Quo — Oratorio Concerts —
Unflagging industry — Musical Engraving — Conductors and
Leaders — Artistic Jealousies — English Amateurs — The
Charity Children at St. Paul's — Musical Prodigies — F. Hiller,
Schauroth, Malibran — Sir George Smart — Visit to Germany
— An Adventure — Nights in the Birnbeck-Kneipe — Re-
hearsals of Weber's " Euryanthe" at Vienna — Visit to
Beethoven— Saleri in the Hospital - , , 48

CHAPTER VIL

1824.

Prague — Inauguration of the Redoutensaal — Reception by the
Emperor — Series of Concerts — Respect for his Old Master —
Dresden — Artistic Society — Tieck — C. M. von Weber — Per-
formance before the Court — Leipzig — Distinguished Critics
and Artists — Berlin — Relations to the Mendelssohn Family
— Frau Varnhagen von Ense (Rahel) — Felix Mendelssohn —
Zelter — Potsdam — Magdeburg .61



CONTENTS, Xi

CHAPTER VIII.

1825.

FAGB

Hanover — The Duke of Cambridge — Hamburg — Marriage to
Charlotte Embden — Paris — Intercourse with Distinguished
Men — Reception in London — Mori's Monster Concerts —
Sebastian Erard's Invention — Advantage of Numbering Con-
cert Tickets — Habits of Study — Sir Michael Costa — Sundays
with the dementis — The Collards — Holiday Excursions and
Concerts — A Liverpool Rehearsal — The Christmas Waits , . 69

CHAPTER IX.

1826.

Stormy Voyage to Ireland — Impressions of Dublin — Reception at
the Castle — Return to London — Musical Activity — C. M. von
Weber — " Der Freyschiitz" at Covent Garden — Improvisa-
tion — Rehearsal of " Oberon" — Braham's Benefit — Caprice
of the " Gods" — W^eber's Concert — Death of Weber — Thal-
berg — Visit to Germany — Sontag — Felix Mendelssohn — ^Art
and Artists in Berlin 76

CHAPTER X.

1827.

Tour in Germany — Spohr — Elector of Hesse-Cassel — Musical
Pupils — Tyrolese Singers — Escape from a Difficulty — Liszt —
Letters from Beethoven— His Melancholy Condition — Cor-
respondence with Schindler and Rau — Beethoven's Relatives
— Carl van Beethoven — Generous Assistance of the London
Philharmonic Society — Death of Beethoven — Stars in London
— Dinner to Clementi — Heine the Poet ^i

CHAPTER XI.

1828.

Edinburgh — Curious Architecture — Sir Walter Scott — A Delight-
ful Visit — Highlanders and the Bagpipes— Scott's Apprecia-
tion of German Literature — Contribution to Moscheles*
Album — Scotch Church Service — Visits to the Lions of
Edinburgh— Spurzheim the Phrenologist— Life of a Musician
in London — Mademoiselle Sontag — Peter Pixis — Fete at
Vauxhall — Scott and the Prima Donna — Mademoiselle Mars iy\



Xii CONTENTS,

CHAPTER XIL

1829.

PACiB

Moscheles' Productions — Fugitive Pieces — Expense of Private
Concerts — Domestic Sorrows — Visit of Felix Mendelssohn-
Bartholdy — The Chevalier Neukomm — A Cinque-Cento of
Vocalists — De Beriot — "Troubadours" and "Bohemian
Brothers" — Artists' Concerts — Power of the Italian Opera —
Laporte — Handel's " Acis and Galatea" — Visit to Hamburg
— Reminiscences of a Tour in Denmark and Sweden . . . 147

CHAPTER XIII.

1830 — 1831.

An Accident — Hummel — Madame Malibran — ^Music in England
— Failure of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony — Erard's Pianos
— Henry Litolft — Neukomm — Philharmonic Concerts — First
Railway Journey — Operatic Celebrities — Field's Return to
London — Paganini — Prodigies from the Continent — Visits of
Intimate Friends — The Reform Agitation — A Musical
Festival — Celebration of Christmas 16 1

CHAPTER XIV.

1832.

Moscheles as an Orchestral Writer — Death of Clementi — German
Opera in London — The Italian Opera — " Robert le Diable" —
Centenary of Haydn's Birth — The Elder Mathews — Pianists
and Prime Donne — Literary and Artistic Friends — Mendels-
sohn's " Lieder ohne Worte" — Art-Congress — Anecdote of
Schroder — Moscheles' Birthday — Paganini — Visit to Berlin —
Intercourse with the Mendelssohns — Leipzig and Weimar —
Souvenir of Goethe — At the Pavilion, Brighton — Beethoven's
** Messe Solennelle" 174

CHAPTER XV.

1833.

Concerts in the North of England — Birth of a Son — Congratula-
tory Letter from Felix Mendelssohn — John Parry — Herz —
Handel's " Messiah" — Pasta — Madame Malibran — Chopin's
" Studies" — Mendelssohn in London — Illness of Mendels-
sohn's Father — Coleridge — Moore — Lockhart — Seaside Music
—Lessons given during the Year 187



CONTENTS. Xiii

CHAPTER XVI.

1834.

FAGB

Stars of the Italian Opera — Grisi, Rubini, and Tamburini — De
Vrugt — Vieuxtemps — Lady Violin-players — Festival in West-
minster Abbey — Distribution of the Chorus — Comparison of
the two Festivals in 17S4-1834 — Solo-singers — Tenors and
Sopranos — " Israel in Egypt" — The " Messiah" — Demeanor
of the Audience — Festival at Birmingham — Overture to "Joan
of Arc" — Byron's "Manfred" at Covent Garden 201

CHAPTER XVII.

1835.

" Trial Night" of the Philharmonic Society — An Unmannerly
Nobleman — Litolfifs Compositions — Berlioz' " Symphonic
Fantastique" — Musical Pains and Pleasures — Julius Bene-
dict — Cramer's Retirement— Visit to Germany — Leipzig — In-
tercourse with Musical Artists — Felix Mendelssohn — Letters
to Madame Moscheles — Concert — Berlin — A Family Fete —
Musical Absurdities — A Painful Affair — Death of Mendels-
sohn's Father — Holland and Belgium 208

CHAPTER XVm.

1836.

Letters from Members of the Mendelssohn Family — Braham at
St. James's Theatre — Malibran — Thalberg — De Beriot — John
Parry — The Duke of Brunswick's Bouquet — Death of Mali-
bran — Ole Bull — Holiday Occupations — Felix Mendelssohn's
Betrothal — The Oratorio of " St. Paul" at Liverpool — Thal-
berg's Compositions — Schumann — Account with Cramer and
Co. — Twelve Characteristic Studies 223

CHAPTER XIX.

1837.

Recitals for Pianoforte Music — Production of Beethoven's Ninth
Symphony — An old Harpsichord — Revival of Old Masters —
British Concerts — Popularity of Italian Music and Musicians
— Thalberg's Second Season in London — Foreign Guests —
Assaut de Pianos — Chopin — Remarks on Pianoforte Makers
— Schroder-Devrient — Operatic Affairs — The Antient Con-
certs — The Beethoven Monument in Bonn — Holidays in
Hamburg — Return to London 236



xiv CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XX.

1838.

PAGB

Historical Concerts — The Trial Nights at the Philharmonic Con-
certs — Musical Pupils and Publishers — Influx of Foreign Art-
ists — Johann Strauss's Music — Alfred de Vigny — Lady Mor-
gan — Great Event of the Season — A Month at Hastings —
Beethoven — Chamber Music — Flattering offer from Weimar 245

CHAPTER XXI.

1839.

Ferdinand David — Successful Concert — Composers and Publish-
ers — Bernhard Romberg — Musical Novelties — Prince Louis
Napoleon — A New School of Playing — Paris — Chopin — Mu-
sical Entertainments — Impressions of Artists — Aime Martin
— Cremieux — Rachel — Plays, Operas, Actors, and Singers —
Performance before the Court of St. Cloud — Chamber Music
— Musical Education — Mendelssohn — Adams the Organist . 253

CHAPTER XXIL

1840.

Letter to a Friend — Sir Gardner Wilkinson — Appointed Pianist
to Prince Albert — Literary and Artistic Acquaintances — Liszt
— Political Questions — Mendelssohn at Birmingham — Visit
to Germany — Correspondence — Intercourse with Artists at
Leipzig — Chorley — Prague — Moscheles* Mother — Reception
at Concerts — Dionys Weber — Auf Wiedersehen — A Hit at
Thiers — Works on Music — Letter from Mendelssohn . . . 263

CHAPTER XXm.

1841.

The Philharmonic Society — Moscheles as Conductor — Gener-
osity of Liszt — The Kemble Family — Madame Viardot — Ger-
man and Italian Artists — Mendelssohn's "Lieder ohne Worte'*
— Mendelssohn and Spohr — Rachel — Thorough Bass — Piano-
forte Practice — Some Weeks in Boulogne — Musical Publica-
tions 2^0

CHAPTER XXIV.

1842.

The Bunsen Family — Performance before the King of Prussia — ^A



CONTENTS. XV



Trying Time — Correspondence with Madame Moscheles —
Rossini's " Stabat Mater" — Conversation with Neukomm —
Family Trials — Rehearsal of Spohr's Symphony — Anton
Rubinstein — Dedication of a Work to Prince Albert — Presen-
tation to the Prince — Great Fire at Hamburg — Concert in aid
of the Sufferers — J ulJien's Concerts 286

CHAPTER XXV.

1843.

Operatic Arrangements — John Parry — Mrs. Shaw and Clara No-
vello at Exeter Hall — Halle the Pianist — Inauguration of the
Leipzig Conservatoire — Alexander Dreyschock — Sivori and
Ernst — Spohr in London — Concert by Hullah's Pupils —
Anecdote of Fontenelle — Music and Drawing — Heinrich
Lehmann — Playing to the Blind in Paris— Visit to Halevy in
Prison 293

CHAPTER XXVL
1844.

New Year in Austria and England — Joachim — Teaching the
Theory of Music — Mendelssohn in London — Golden Hours
— Moscheles Visited by Nesselrode — Visit to Germany — Con-
cert at Frankfort — Chairs for the Concert — Auerbach — Kaul-
bach — The Artist's Studio — King Louis — Musical Life and
Doings in Vienna — Ernst Pauer — An Imposing Scene in Vi-
enna — Court Concert — Leipzig 299

CHAPTER XXVII.

1845.

Dresden — Intercourse with Musical Artists — The Leipzig Con-
servatoire — Proposed Appointment — Berlin — The Opera
House — Jenny Lind — Article in a German Paper, and Reply
— Bach's " Concertos" — Foreign Artists in London — Beet-
hoven as a Conductor — Bonn — Musical Festival — Meyerbeer,
Liszt, Chorley, Spohr — Inauguration of Beethoven's Statue —
Tumultuous Banquet at the " Stern" — Paris 309

CHAPTER XXVIII.

1846.

Leipzig Negotiations — The Appointment Accepted — Benedict's
" Crusaders" — Farewell Concert — Marriage of Moscheles' eld-



xvi CONTENTS.

PAGB

est Daughter — Birmingham Musical Festival — Mendelssohn's
" Elijah" — Remarkable Episode — Farewell to London —
Reception in Leipzig — Professors of the Conservatoire —
Congratulatory Dinner — Attraction at Leipzig — Evening
with the Mendelssohns — Examination of Candidates for
the Conservatoire 321

CHAPTER XXIX.

1847.

Life and Society in Leipzig — Mendelssohn's Birthday — A For-
getful Artist — Chopin's Music — Visit to London — Musical
Notes — Jenny Lind — Meeting of Artists — Julius Rietz —
Walks with Mendelssohn — Mendelssohn and Queen Victoria
— Madame Frege — Illness and Death of Mendelssohn — Ex-
citement in Leipzig — Funeral Ceremony in Leipzig and in
Berlin — Mendelssohn's Correspondence 331

CHAPTER XXX.

1S48— 1S49.

Commemorations of Mendelssohn — Concert in Aid of a Pension
Fund — Performance of the " Elijah" — Political Agitation —
Prague and Vienna — Nestroy the Actor in Leipzig — Change
in Musical Taste — The Volunteer Guards — Anniversary of
Mendelssohn's Death — A Mendelssohn Foundation — Mark
of Royal Favor — Schumann — Mendelssohn's "Athalie" — Mad-
ame Dulcken — Lindley — Liszt's Playing — Visit to Prague —
Musical Events 347

CHAPTER XXXI.

1850 — 1851.

Moscheles and his Pupils — Schumann's " Genoveva" — Perfonnance
of some of Mendelssohn's Works — Visit to Berlin — The Sil-
ver Wedding — Paul David — Brendel — A Musical Quarrel —
Bacli Society — Joachim — Political Agitation in Germany
— Occasional Criticisms — Pianoforte Players — Beethoven's
" Mount of Olives" — Lohengrin — Summer Excursion — Re-
ception in Weimar — David — Ferdinand Hiller 358

CHAPTER XXXn.

1852.

Madame Sontag — The Bach Society — St. Matthew's Passion —



CONTENTS. xvii



Otto Goldschmidt — Complaints about the Conservatoire —
Moscheles and his Pupils — Silencing a Troublesome Neigh-
bor — The Tannhauser — Berlioz's Music — Moscheles as Play-
er and Lecturer — Modern Pianist — A Magnificent Gift — Vaca-
tion in Saxon Switzerland 368

CHAPTER XXXIII.

1853.

The New Erard — The Bach Society — Franz Von Holstein — Visit
to Italy — Scene in a Church of the Tyrol — Zither and Vocal
Concert — Residence at Venice — A Musical Adventure — Carl
Werner — Serenade per Canalc — Festa di San Rocco — Milan
— The Musical Conservatoire — Fumagalli — The Teatro Rad-
egonds* — Lake of Como — Visit to Pasta — Zurich — A Musical
Treasure — Liszt — Dr. Reclam — Braham's Compositions . . 374

CHAPTER XXXIV.

1854— 1855.

Madame Lind-Goldschmidt — Fritz Gernsheim — Musical Critics
— Abortive Works — Asiatic Music — David — Music of the Fu-
ture — Schindler and Ferdinand Hiller — Summer Holidays —
Munich — The Theatre — Fraulein Seebach — Evening at the
Schaffrath — Ranch — Pianos in the Exhibition — Egern — Ru-
binstein — Arabella Goddard — Public Appearances — Mendels-
sohn's " Reformation Symphony" 383

CHAPTER XXXV.

1856— 1860.

Centenary of Mozart's Birth — Programme of the Concert — ^Julius
Stockhausen — Ernst Pauer — Birds of Passage — Behr's Bene-
fit — Louis Brassin — A Charming Present — Max Bruch — Ar-
thur Sullivan — Jubilee of the Prague Conservatoire — Visit to
Antwerp — Concours de Chant at Brussels — Schiller Festival —
Intercourse with Liszt — Visit to Paris — Rossini 39I

CHAPTER XXXVL

1S61— 1870.

Ovation to Concertmeister David — Sebastian Bach's Preludes —
Visit to London — Mazzini — The Goldschmidts — Modern Mu-
sic — Gounod's " Faust" — A Musical Treasure — Korner — An-



xviii CONTENTS,



niversary of the Battle of Leipzig — War Between Austria and
Prussia — Handel Festival in London — Wagner's " Meister-
sanger" — Visit to Belgrade — Illness — Strange Dream — Death
of Moscheles 407



A Complete Catalogue of Compositions by I. Moscheles . 421
Ir^DEx of Names mentioned throughout the Work . • • . 439



RECENT

Music and Musicians.



CHAPTER I.
1794— 1 8 14.



Early Recollections— Musical Instinct— Too Quick for his Musio

Master— Indiscreet Friends— Beethoven Fever— A Pupil of Dionys
Weber— A Candid Opinion— On the Wrong Road— Tomaschek —
First Visit to the Opera-House— Death of Moscheles' Father—
First Appearance in Public— Vienna— The Baroness Eskeles—
Curious Attestatum — Beethoven — Salieri.

THE time of life preceding the period when Moscheles
began to keep a diary (18 14) has been described by
him in the following memoranda, which are here given
verbatim :

"I was born at Prague on the 30th of May, 1794, so
that my memory carries me back as far as the beginning of
the century. In those days I heard the great French Rev-
olution and all its horrors constantly discussed. Military
instincts were uppermost, even in the minds of boys, and
there was no end to the playing at soldiers. When the
military band performed parade music in front of the guard-
house, I was seldom absent The bandsmen got little boys
to hold their music for them, and I was always at hand to
undertake the duty. Coming home all enthusiasm from
these street concerts, I used to say, * I too will be a mu-
sician' (Spiel mann). My mother was kindness, love, and
affection itself ; she was constantly attentive to the wants
of her husband and her five children. The marriage was a
happy one. My father, a cloth-merchant by trade, found



2 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

leisure, with all his business, to keep up his music, which
he loved devotedly. He played the guitar, and sang as
well. I owe to him my first impulses towards a musical
career, for he used constantly to say, ' One of my children
must become a thoroughbred musician ' — words which
made me desire that I might be that one child. My father,
however, began with my eldest sister. During her piano-
forte lessons, I used to stand, mouth and ears wide open,
by the upper C (the extreme limit of the little instrument),
watching how my sister worked her way through the little
pieces, which she never thoroughly mastered. When by
myself I had tried to spell out these same pieces, it seemed
to me anything but a difficult matter. My sister's clumsy
playing was trying to my temper, and on one occasion I
forgot myself so far as to call out, ' Dear me, how stupid !
I could do it better myself.' Zadrakha, the old master,
chuckled incredulously, but allowed me nevertheless to
jump up on the music-stool and play instead of my sister.
His report to my father must have been a. favorable one,
for a few days afterwards I was suddenly informed that a
trial should be made with me instead of my sister.

"Who in the world could be happier than T? The
pianoforte lessons were started at once, and I made rapid
progress — too rapid perhaps for the old music-master, to
whose dreary, monotonous exercises I was not disposed to
submit. I subscribed out of my own pocket-money to a
circulating music-library, and took away as many as half a
dozen pieces at a time — pieces by Kozeluch, Eberl, Pleyel,
and others, which I scampered through. Whether my
master took umbrage at this proceeding, or was dismissed
by my father, I know not \ anyhow he left off teaching me.

" Our friends thought they were doing my father and
myself a service by taking me occasionally with them to
the houses of neighbors and acquaintance, where my per-
formances, miserable as they must have been, caused me
to be petted and admired as an infant prodigy. Naturally,
I enjoyed all the compliments, kisses, and all kinds of
endearments heaped k^t^ me by the ladies. My father,
however, soon put a stop to this mischief, by reprimanding
my indiscreet friends. He argued rightly that such prac-
tices were not calculated to advance me. The more the



MUSICAL INSTINCT. 3

musical instinct stirred within me, the more gentle and
tender was his treatment \ but many a time did I get into
trouble when I presumed to slink away from the piano and
the odious finger-exercises, to make scabbards, helmets,
and other pasteboard armor, to distribute among my troop.
After all, I had my duties as a Captain, and felt myself
bound to furnish my men with new equipments.

"Meanwhile I had advanced, under my new musical
teacher Horzelsky, to the study of more important pieces,
which did not however prevent my regularly attending
school. Although but seven years old, I actually ventured
upon Beethoven's Sonate Pathetique. Imagine if you can
how I played it ; imagine also the Beethoven fever, to
which I fell a victim in those days — a fever which goaded
me on to mangle the other great works of the immortal
author.

" My father put a check to this mischief by taking me
one day to Dionys Weber. * I come,' he said, ' to you, as
our first musician, for sincere truth instead of empty flattery.
I want to find out if my boy has such genuine talent that
you can make a really good musician of him.' Naturally,
I was called on to play, and I was bungler enough to do
it with some conceit. My mother having decked me out
in my Sunday best, I played my best piece, Beethoven's
Sonate Pathetique. But what was my astonishment on
finding that I was neither interrupted by bravos nor over-
whelmed with praise -, and what were my feelings when
Dionys Weber finally delivered himself thus: 'Candidly
speaking, the boy is on the wrong road, for he makes a
hash of great works, which he does not understand, and to
which he is utterly unequal. But he has talent, and I
could make something of him if you would hand him over
to me for three years, and follow out my plan to the letter.
The first year he must play nothing but Mozart, the second
Clementi, and the third Bach ; but only that — not a note as
yet of Beethoven, and if he persists in using the circulating
libraries, I have done with him for ever.'

" My father agreed to all these terms, and on my way
home I received many a golden precept on the subject of
my studies, which were now to be begun in sobei earnest.
I \Nas told that if I went through them conscientiously and



4 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

thorough!)^, I should bring credit to myself, my father, and
all the family. Gladly would I have resigned this remote
prospect for my beloved Beethoven, and the constant varied
enjoyments of my circulating library. But as it was, I had
been expelled from Paradise, and must begin to toil in the
sweat of my brow. My father, who generally came himself
to fetch me home after lessons, questioned Weber very
closely on the subject of my progress, and if the report was
thoroughly satisfactory, I was invariably rewarded with a
visit to the confectioner's.

"Weber and his contemporary Tomaschek were op-
posed to one another — the former representing the Ger-
man, and the latter the Italian school. ' Who on earth is
there, excepting Mozart, Clementi, and Bach? ' said Weber.
* A pack of crazy, hare-brained fools, who turn the heads
of our young people. Beethoven, clever as he is, writes a
lot of hare-brained stuff, and leads pupils astray.' He
would dwell however with enthusiasm on the beauties of
Mozart, rejoice in the original intricacies and combinations
of Bach, and interpret them by dint of his vast theoretical
knowledge. His own compositions were not successful.
Not a publisher could be found for them ; they were litho-
graphed at his own expense, and lay piled up in his study.
When he began to take delight in my progress, he made
me play his music in his presence at the houses of Count
Clam-Gallas and Schlick, but without much success. Then,
as in later years at Vienna, my efforts failed to make his
works popular. Tomaschek held a very different art creed.
His compositions however equally failed to make their way.

" One day when Weber had given my father repeated
assurances that I should do something in the world, I was
rewarded by being taken for the first time to the theatre.
The opera was that of ' Achilles,' by Paer ; it was a new
work, and I was particularly delighted with the funeral
march. When I came home, I played it correctly from
beginning to end, and drew tears from my dear father's
eyes. A visit to the Opera House, which was now and
then allowed to me, was a source of the greatest enjoyment.
Would to God I could have kept for years my excellent and
judicious father! He was taken from us suddenly by typhus
fever, and, as a boy of fourteen years of age, I stood weeping



DEA TH OF MOSCHELES' FA THER.



5



by the side of the coffin. Time has soothed my sorrow, but
never chilled my gratitude and love. His wish, repeated
over and over again during his illness, to hear my first com-
position, was destined never to be fulfilled ; but his death,
and the not too affluent circumstances in which he left his
family, were the reasons of my first public appearance in
Prague, Dionys Weber's opinion being that I ought to
rely solely on myself, and was quite able to do so, he allow-
ed me to finish the concerto which I had been working at,
and then to give a musical soir^^^e, where I was much ap-
plauded and earned something for my pains. My mother
was greatly comforted by this event, but an old uncle
declared I was on the road to ruin, and would end by
playing at dancing parties ; that if I had taken to business
I might have had the good fortune to find my way to the
wealthy city of Hamburg, and who could say I might not
have married the daughter of some great merchant ! Well,
I did not become a ' beer-fiddler,' as the good old man used
to call me, and 1 never got a place in a merchant's office.
The second half of his wish, however, was realized in after-
years : I went to Hamburg, and married a Hamburg lady.

" A short time after the death of my father, my mother
sent her young musician to Vienna. It cost her a struggle,
but she yielded to the advice of her friends. At Vienna I
was to continue my studies, and earn my own bread and
independence. I remember with gratitude the hearty wel-
come and kind attentions I received in the family circles of
Lewinger and Eskeles, and in the house of the Italian Ar-
taria, who afterwards published my first compositions. A
relation of the Baroness Eskeles gave large musical parties,
in which I was allowed to take a part. The daughter of the
house was a pupil of Streicher, and a warm supporter of
his school. Both master and pupil fancied they alone were
genuine and correct pianoforte players. The lady advised
me to listen frequently to her daughter's playing, and at
the same time to take lessons of Streicher. The first half
of this advice seemed to me arrogant on her part, and to
follow the latter would have been ungrateful. I owed so
much to my old friend Dionys Weber. Should I now, as a
deserter, serve under another flag ? No, I determined to
build for the future only on the groundwork he had con-



6 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

structed with such infinite pains. I would hear and exam-
ine everything, and appropriate all that was good according
to my best ability, but I would remain his grateful pupil to
the last."

Moscheles did not fail to keep up his connection with
Streicher, and gladly acknowledged himself indebted to him
for many hints, although he would not bind himself down
to copy his style of playing. He was a constant attendant
at the musical evenings given by the best connoisseurs,
with whom the society at Vienna in those days abounded.
Many of the Viennese ladies had been admirably taught,
and the youthful Moscheles modestly admitted their superi-
ority in delicacy of touch and expression, and soon learned
to appropriate these qualities. At the same time he became
a laborious student of the theory of music under the Dom-
Kapellmeister Albrechtsberger, who on parting gave him
the following curiously worded testimonial : —

" Attestatum.
*' The undersigned testifies that Ignatz Moscheles has
for some months acquired under me such a good knowledge
of thorough Bass and Counterpoint that he is capable (as
he plays in a masterly way on the pianoforte and organ as
well) of earning his bread anywhere with both these arts.
And as he now wishes to set out on his travels, I think it
only fair to warmly recommend him in all places he may
choose to visit.

"Vienna, 28th September, 1808.
" Georgius Albrfchtsberger.
(Seal) '' Kapellmeister in der

" Domkirche zu St. Stephan."

" As a matter of course," Moscheles continues, " the
great Beethoven was the object of my vleepest veneration.
Having so exalted an opinion of him, I could not under-
stand how the Viennese ladies just mentioned had the
courage to invite him to listen to their musical perform-
ances, and play his compositions in his presence. He
must have liked it, however, for at that period he was fre-
quently to be met with at these evening ente"tainments.
His unfortunate deafness might have made him leluctant to



SALTER I. y

perfonn on the piano, so that he entrusted these ladies with
the first playing of his new compositions. But how aston-
ished I was one day when calling upon Hofkapellmeister
Salieri, who was not at home, to see on his table a sheet of
paper on which was written, in large, bold characters, 'The
pupil Beethoven has been here.' That set me thinking.
What ! a Beethoven acknowledges he has yet to learn of a
Salieri ! How much more then do I stand in need of his
teaching ! Salieri had been the pupil and most fervent ad-
mirer of Gluck, but it was well known that he would not ac-
knowledge Mozart's works. Notwithstanding this, I went
to him, became his pupil, was his deputy Kapellmeister at
the Opera for three years, and received as such a free pass
to all the theatres. Those were happy and busy days in
dear old Vienna 1 "



CHAPTER II.
1814— 1816.

Moscheles' Diarj- — Meyerbeer — Beethoven — Celebration of the Liber-
ation of Germany — Compositions — Sonate Melancolique — Pupils
— Habits of study — Artistic circle — Connection with Beethoven —
Congress of Verona — Imperial Festivities — Musical Entertain-
ments — The Countess Hardegg — Alexander Variations — Amusing
Incident — Visit to Prague — The Ludlamshohle — Moscheles and
Hummel — Karlsbad — Schumann.

THE diary, which begins on the ist of April, 18 14, opens
to us a life full of cheerful activity. The youth, just
turned twenty, is dependent entirely on his own exertions,
and earns at artistic reunions or at public performances his
first laurels as an executant as well as a composer.

On the 8th of April he hears for the first time Meyerbeer,
who plays a rondo of his own composition. We quote from
the diary : — " Thoroughly convinced of his masterly playing,
I was still curious to see what effect it would have on a
mixed audience, and remarked that even those passages
which possibly were not understood, caused great astonish-
ment — chiefly on account of the mastery shown in overcom-
ing great difBculties."

On the loth of April Moscheles' diary mentions the
great enthusiasm which the intelligence of the taking of
Paris produced at Vienna ; how the populace, in great ex-
citement, marched through the streets, singing national
songs.

"April II. — At a matinee in the ' Romischen Kaiser,' I
heard a new trio by Beethoven. It was no less than the
Trio in B flat, and Beethoven himself played the pianoforte
part. In how many compositions do we find the little word
'new' wrongly placed ! But never in Beethoven's composi-
tions ; least of all in this work, which is full of originality.
His playing, apart from the spirit prevailing in it, satisfied
me less, for it lacks clearness and precision ; still I observed



COMPOSITION',. g

several traces of the grand style of playing which I had long
since recognized in his compositions."

The great event, the liberation of Germany, was vibra-
ting in the hearts of even the light-minded Viennese, and
not only their poets, but their musicians also, vied with each
other in celebrating the event. Spohr wrote his "Befreites
Deutschland ; " Hummel celebrated the return of the
Kaiser ; Moscheles wrote the "Entry into Paris," and after-
wards a sonata entitled " The Return of the Kaiser." The
Jewish congregation at Vienna, to which he at that time be-
longed, commissioned him to write for the occasion a can-
tata, which was performed very impressively and then re-ar-
ranged for the pupils of the famous Guntz Institute, who
played it before the foreign princes. He also wrote six
Scherzos, " Variations on a Theme by Handel ; " his Rondo
for Four Hands in A ; minuets and trios ; Austrian Landler,
for Artaria's Collection of National Dances ; the Polonaise
in E flat ; a Sonata for Pianoforte and Violin ; another for
Piano and Bassoon, and lastly, the subject of the " Sonate
Melancolique" — thought by himself and competent judges
to be one of his best works. The diary proves that this
subject, which occurred to him while giving a lesson, was
worked out with particular pleasure. Pupils, and those of
the highest rank, had become so numerous that he was
obliged to refuse any addition to their number. The diary
shows that invitations never interfered with his studies, since
he tried to make up for lost time by composing during the
small hours of the night. In spite of this, by 7 a. m. the
day's work was begun with the study of English and both
pianoforte and violin exercises. That he judged himself
severely is shown by such notes as these : —

"To-day I was much applauded, especially by Count
P., who was quite enthusiastic ; but I was not satisfied with
myself." And again, " The company was enchanted ; but
I was not. I must do much better than that." And once
again, " I was not to be talked over into playing, for I
should not have done anything worth hearing to-day, and
always see cause to repent, when I have been inveigled to
the piano against my inclination."

The unceremonious artistic circle of the family of L.,
at Dornbach, near Vienna, where Salieri, Meyerbeer, Hum-



10 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

mel, and others were to be met with, is described by MoS'
cheles as particularly congenial to bis tastes. " On delight-
ful summer evenings walks were taken, tableaux arranged,
all sorts of musical trifles composed and performed on the
spot."

At this period he came into closer connection with
Beethoven. " The proposal is made to me," he writes, " to
arrange the great master-piece, ' Fidelio,' for the piano.
What can be more delightful?"

We now come across constant short notices in the
diary ; for instance, he tells how he has taken two numbers
at one time to Beethoven, then again two others ; next
come occasional notes — such as, " he altered little," or " he
altered nothing," " he simplified " such and such a passage,
or '* he strengthened it."

Again : "When I came early in the morning to Beet-
hoven, he was still lying in bed ; he happened to be in
remarkably good spirits, jumped up immediately, and placed
himself, just as he was, at the window looking out on the
Schottenbastei, with the view of examining the ' Fidelio'
numbers which I had arranged. Naturally, a crowd of
street boys collected under the window, when he roared
out, 'Now what do these confounded boys want.-*' I
laughed, and pointed to his own figure. 'Yes, yes ; you are
quite right,' he said, and hastily put on a dressing-gown.

"When we came to the last grand duet, ' Namenlose
Freude,' and I had written the words of the text — ' Ret-
terin des Gat-ten,' he struck them out and altered them to
'Rett-erin des Gatt-en;' 'for no one,' said he, can sing
upon t' Under the last number I had written ' Fine mit
Gottes Hiilfe' (the end with the help of God). He was not
at home when I brought it him ; and on returning my
manuscript, the words were added, ' O, Mensch, hilf dir
selber' (Oh, man, help thyself)."

We read on the 29th November: "at Beethoven's con-
cert at noon, in the large Redoutensaal. He gave his
glorious Symphony in A major, the Cantata ' Derglorreiche
Augenblick,' and the ' Battle of Vittoria.' Everything was
worthy of him."

In winter Moscheles is commissioned to write the
Carrousel music, to be performed in the presence of the



IMPERIAL FESTIVITIES. H

foreign princes. He writes : '• The Riding School was
brilliantly illuminated, and mediaeval decorations had trans-
formed it into a kind of arena. Twenty-four knights in
armor did their part admirably, and their ladies were in
splendid costume. I never saw such a iine pageant."
Whenever be visits the classical quartet performances of
the Schuppanzig party, he praises the admirable execution,
especially of Beethoven's quartets ; observing on one of
these occasions, *• How could Spohr speak against Beet-
hoven and his imitators .-*"

During the great Congress at Vienna we find Moscheles
and his young friends eagerly joining the enthusiastic crowd
which surrounds the royal family of Austria, to welcome
the Kings of VV:".rtemberg, Denmark, Prussia, and lastly,
the Emperor of Russia. The Hiller regiment plays a
march composed by Moscheles. The Burgplatz, the
Imperial family at the window, the foreign princes below,
everybody and everything enfte, the theatre in the evening,
and the brilliant illuminations excite his admiration.

A few days later he describes a grand Court Ball in
the Riding School, "chmged into a garden, and the illumi-
nations brilliant as daylight. Our own Emperor personally
superintended the arrangements for the comfort of his dis-
tinguisned visitors. I saw everything and everybody, and
remained there until three o'clock in the mcrning."

Again: " St. Stephen's tower in a blaze of fire-works at
the people's fte in the Augarten was most beautiful ; the
artistic rainbow, the imitations of the Brandenburg Gate,
and the column constructed of French cannon left in
Russia, well worth seeing.. The 'Vestalin,' by Spontini ;
Rossini's ' Mosj,' and 'Jean de Paris,' as well as Handel's
oratorio of ' Samson ' were performed before the Princes."
"Handel's 'Samson !' " exclaims Moscheles, with youthful
enthusiasm, "which always strengthens and elevates my
soul ! The first time I heard it, I was in ecstasies of
delight ; since then I have heard every rehearsal and per-
formance of this masterpiece, and always found myself
refreshed anew."

Many youthful pranks were played, and many practical
jokes devised with his artistic colleagues Merck and
Giuliani, the poets Castelli and Campani, and other jovial



12 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

fellows. The intercourse with Meyerbeer materially bene-
fited the artistic development of Moscbeles, who constantly
played to and with him and never tired of admiring him.
He repeatedly says, " His bravura playing is unparalleled —
it cannot be surpassed. I admire his own original manner
of treating the instrument."

For hours together they sat extemporizing and impro-
vising on one piano ; hence arose the " Invitation to a
Bowl of Punch, ' and other duets. It was a hard matter
for Moscheles to part from his friend, when the latter pre-
pared to leave Vienna. Meyerbeer was at that time in his
transition period. He began to apply himself to dramatic
music, wrote an operetta for Berlin, and soon afterwards
went to Paris, where he steadily pursued his career as a
great dramatic composer.

The new year opens as busily as its predecessor had
closed. The most important event in this new year, and
the most momentous in its consequences, was Moscheles'
visit to the Countess Hardegg.

" She sent for me," he says, " to ask me if I was willing
to play at a concert on Ash Wednesday for the charitable
institutions of Vienna. 1 was not very eager in the matter,
because I had no new compositions, but she was not to be
denied. ' Write something, Moscheles, as quickly as you
can, and let it be brilliant,' she said. 'Yes, but what?' I
rephed. After much deliberation it was settled that I was
to write variations upon the march played by the regiment
bearing the name of the Emperor Alexander of Russia." .

He began writing the variations on the 29th of January, /fjh
and finished them on the 5th of February. These are the
famous Alexander Variations, of which it was said for many
years that Moscheles alone could play them, and which
won for him, both at Vienna and elsewhere on his artistic
tours, his high reputation as a bravura player. There were
certain parts in this composition which (twenty years later)
sent a thrill of enthusiasm through the audience ; nay,
when he would have been glad " to lock them away in some
dark corner" — so that his " youthful effort," as he called
it, might be entirely forgotten — they were still rapturously
called for, and those who had heard him play them in his
youth would have him repeat them in his more mature age.



ALEXANDER VARIATIONS.



13



In the diary of the 8th of February we read : — " To-day
being Ash Wednesday, I had a rehearsal of my Alexander
variations at the Kilrtnerthor Theatre \ they went very well
with the orchestra, and were much applauded. In the
evening I played them at the concert given by the committee
oi noble ladies for the benefit of charitable institutions ; all
Ihe Allied Princes were present. The variations were un-
expectedly well received — they seemed to be the piece best
appreciated during the evening."

A concert given jointly with Hummel follows ; the art-
loving Grand -Duchess of Weimar, who is present, cordially
invites him to come to Weimar. " 1 am most proud," he
writes, " at Salieri's attending the concert and being satis-
fied with my performance." Another note speaks of Mos-
cheles' devotion to this master. " My beloved master,
Salieri, is in great danger; he is suffering from inflamma-
tion on the lungs. God grant that his illness may take a
favorable turn !" After several days of anxiety he is allowed
to see him, but not to speak to him, and then follo.w ex-
pressions of joy at his recovery.

An amusing incident occurs on the 7th of May. The
friends had taken a walk to MCdling (near Vienna), Mos-
cheles had off-hand arranged the picnic music, and says, " To
set every one going, I took the sticks out of the drummer's
hands and thundered and flourished, while the violins twit-
tered, the clarionets doodled, the trumpets clanged, and the
bassoon growled. It was a wonderful ensemble."

His cheerful mood does not always predominate. Mos-
cheles confides to his diary that, " not being up to the mark, I
preferred leaving the company." Again we meet with this
remark, " Played and pleased others, not myself" Then he
works all the more industriously, and is cheered by the con-
sciousness of uninterrupted progress and an almost in
variably unclouded intercourse with his friends.

He is busy composing his Polonaise in E flat major,
which became afterwards the last movement of the concert
in the same key ; but at the rehearsal he complains of the
three discordant drums (in E flat, B flat, and C flat,), and
this complaint is repeated at nearly every performance, even
in later years ; so that at last, in the year 1832, when Mendels-
sohn makes a humorous illustrated sketch of Moscheles' works,



H



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



he writes underneath, " Respect, sie sind eingestimmt ! "
("All honor to them. They are in tune!") Scarcely is
the Polonaise finished, when he begins his Sestet. In after
years he used to tell of his great anxiety at that time to
write something in the style of Hummel's Septet. But he
always winds up with the admission, " My ambition resulted
in a light youthful effort, not to be compared with Hummel's
work."

On one occasion at Dornbach a pelting storm drives a
whole party, Moscheles included, to seek shelter in the
house, and he is asked to play to the company, to compensate
them for the loss of the walk. " I improvised," he said,
" but in conjunction with the elements ; for with every flash
of lightning I brought my playing to a pause, which allowed
the thunder to make itself heard independently." During the
autumn his mother spends a fortnight with him ; he devotes
himself to her entirely, and after she leaves, we find him
resuming his studies and his frequent attendance at the
theatres. He also looks for incentives in the sister arts.
Speaking, in the diary, of Oehlenschlager's " Correggio," he
says : " I find so many beautiful things in it with reference
to painters and painting,, that I applied it all to my own art,
to impress it indelibly on my mind." There are interest-
ing notices interweaved in his diary at this period with ref-
erence to serenades (*' Nacht-musiken ") practiced at this
time. Count Palffy gave six of them this winter in the
Botanical Gardens. The performers, besides Moscheles,
were Mayseder, Merck, Giuliani, and Hummel. At the first
series, the Empress Marie Louise, the Archdukes Rainer
and Rudolf, etc. etc., were present, and the programme con-
tains an arrangement of the overture to " Fidelio " (the chief
parts by Moscheles and Mayseder) ; Sonata for piano and
horn by Beethoven (Moscheles and Radezki) ; Polonaise by
Mayseder ; Rondo by Hummel, with quartet accompani-
ment played by Moscheles. In the intervals there were
jovial " Jodler," echoing merrily through the gardens, and a
still more jovial supper. The other five Serenades, as well
as one for the Empress Marie Louise, and half a dozen for
the name-days of private people, were not less interesting.

The first incident worthy of record in this new year
(1816) is a journey to his native town, Prague, where he

\



MOSCIIELES AXD HUMMEL.



15



gave a concert for the poor, the proceeds of which amounted
to 2400 florins. At Pesth he met with his usual success.
Old friends and new gathered around him, the Batthyany
and other noble families invited him to their country seats,
and he was never weary of praising the artistic taste and
hospitality of this circle. Scarcel}' had he returned to Vien-
na when he resumed his former pursuits. In those days he
was a constant guest at the Ludlamshohle, an artists' tavern,
where poets, painters, musicians, and actors used to meet
to spend an hour in unrestrained conviviality, and wit and
wine were the order of the evening. Every member had his
nickname ; and these Moscheles took as the words of a
chorus composed for his jovial comrades. Often in after-
years he fondly recalled the happy hours spent in this cir-
cle.

Meanwhile Moscheles had, by dint of study and obser-
vation of the strong points of others, steadily improved in
finish and execution, so that two camps were formed — the
one preferring Hummel, the other Moscheles. Trustworthy
coniem.poraries are of opinion that HummeFs legato play-
ing had not at that time been attained to by Moscheles ;
Hummel's touch, they said, was soft as velvet, his running
passages perfect as a string of pearls ; whereas Moscheles,
with his dashing bravura and youthful enthusiasm, carried
away his hearers with irresistible force. There was no kind
of personal rivalry between the two artists themselves. We
have seen how Moscheles preferred Hummel's Septet to his
own composition of the same kind. In return Hummel
gave Moscheles tokens of the most sincere acknowledgment,
such as entrusting him with a favorite pupil when obliged
himself to be absent from Vienna. Moscheles mentions
his intercourse with several other artists, among them
Reichardt and Czerny, of whom he says : " No one under-
stood better how to strengthen the weakest fingers, or to
lighten study by practical exercises, without neglecting to
form the taste." While recognizing the merits of others, he
cannot forbear saying, " We musicians, whatever we may be,
are mere satellites of the great Beethoven, the dazzling lu-
minary."

Moscheles produced about this time his grand Sonata in
E flat, for two performers, dedicated to the Archduke Rudolf



1 6 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

of Austria, who played it in musician-like style at first sight
with him. One concert follows another. Moscheles' repu-
tation is rising, but, in spite of the homage paid him^ he
never relaxes, but energetically devotes himself to his regu-
lar studies. His friends urge him to try his fortune in the
wide world ; he at first opposes their views. No wonder !
He felt so perfectly happy in his beloved Vienna, as a fa-
vorite of the public and the centre of a large circle of friends.
His influential patrons and patronesses however prevail
upon him to set out on longer artistic travels, and remove
all obstacles attending such a plan. We next find him at
Prague, and read, "How delightful it is once more to be
with mother and sisters ! What pleasure it gives me to play
before them j no one listens as they do." And again,
*' To-day my sisters and I had some of our old childish fun —
a regular game of romps ; I think mother liked it." He
had to play to his truly respected teacher, Dionys Weber, to
artists and friends, one and all of whom were surprised and
delighted with his progress. Every family which had
known him as a boy, and set hopeful store on his future,
gave him a hearty reception. Success followed success ;
merry adventures and pleasant excursions are recorded, and
Moscheles accepts an invitation of Count Wallis to pass the
summer with him and his family at Karlsbad. This cele-
brated watering-place was just then the resort of princes
and nobles, famous statesmen and artists. Besides King
William in. of Prussia, there were Hardenberg and Gneis-
enau, Wittgenstein, Rostopschin, and others. The Prus-
sian, Austrian, and Russian nobility vied with each other
in the magnificence of their entertainments, and a happy
fusion of the various ranks proved that the great folk were
glad to associate with the artists and make music with them.
The Russian Baroness Lunin sang extremely well, and
Prince Galitzin, who had devoted himself to composition,
wrote for her romances v.hich Moscheles revised and ac-
companied. Moscheles created quite a furore with his Al-
exander variations and fantasias ; such attentions were lav-
ished on him that years afterwards he would eulogize the
favors shown him in that artistic circle, and contrast them
with the coolness and indifference of " now-a-days."

It was in Karlsbad that the young Robert Schumann



SCHUMANN. ly

heard Moscheles for the first time, and lasting were the im-
pressions there produced. Many years later, when Mos-
cheles dedicated to Schumann the Sonata (op. 121) for
pianoforte and violoncello, he received from him the follow-
ing letter : — " I am honored and delighted by the dedication
of your Sonata, and I regard it as an encouragement to my
own aspirations, in which you took a friendly interest from
early days. When I, completely unknown to you, kept for
more than twenty years at Karlsbad, as a relic, a concert
programme which had been yours, how little I dreamt of
being honored in this way by so illustrious a master ! Ac-
cept my sincerest thanks for your kindness."

An excursion was made from Karlsbad to Eger. Mos-
cheles saw the house in which Wallenstein was murdered,
the old fortress with its massive pillars, and lastly the
Mordgiisschen, " Murderer's Lane," where, in the days of
darkness, all the Jews, except the family of Seligsberg,
whose descendants still inhabited the same spot, were
cruelly put to death. A visit to Franzensbrunn and Maria-
kulm, and another short stay at Karlsbad, concluded this
successful tour.

Meanwhile the Countess Hardegg and other influential
admirers had prepared his grand tour for him on his return
to Vienna, by providing him witli letters of recommendation
to every Court he might visit, to every diplomatic or art-
loving celebrity, as well as to the " haute finance." These
letters were something more than ordinary introductions :
the young man was warmly and earnestly recommended,
his talents and general bearing placed in the most favorable
light, and his successes described as accomplished facts.
In those days letters of recommendation had their real
value, and this partly explains the social as well as artistic
success that almost invariably attended Moscheles. In the
first instance confidence inspired by those who had recom-
mended him, was followed by pleasure in his artistic per-
formances. To this must be added the charm of modest,
unassuming manners, which made the stranger a welcome
guest, then a friend — not for months, or even years, but for
life itself. Let us now follow him upon his wanderings,
which were the means of carrying his name far and wide,
and investing it with a European celebrity.



CHAPTER III.
1816— 1821.

Impressions of Leipzig — Conversation with Beethoven — Schicht — Pro
fessor Schulze — Gewandhaus Concerts — Classig's Coffee-house—
Moscheles' Concert — Concert at Altenburg — Dresden — Spontini's
" Vestalin" at the Opera — Introduction to the Artistic World —
Goethe and Music — Anecdote of Haydn — Performance before the
Court — Intrigues of Polledro — Munich — Excursion to Holland —
Musical Life in Brussels — Paris — Spohr.

IN the autumn of 18 16 Moscheles bid a sorrowful adieu
to the beautiful Imperial city, and went to Leipzig by
way of Prague. He travelled in a so-called " Hauderer,"
a most tedious and cumbersome vehicle, and many ejacula-
tions of impatience did it draw from him, which neither
books, nor the dumb row of keys he carried with him, in
order to keep his fingers exercised, at least technically,
availed to moderate. At last he reaches Leipzig. He
says : — " Anxious to see the place, I hastened to the prome-
nades, the ancient market-place, and thence went to the
theatre. The students, with their unseemly noise, their
furious thumping on the ground with sticks when impatiently
calling for the piece to proceed, astonished me, the orderly
Austrian. I was destined to be further annoyed. The per-
formance was a parody upon K^nstler's ' Erdenwallen,' in
which the author. Julius Voss, in biting satire, speaks of all
those who had come to the Leipzig fair with some show or
other to make money. Was that a hit at me? I quickly
laughed away the notion, and thoroughly enjoyed my sup-
per in the ' Joachimsthak' " Some pages further on we
find frequent notices of the crowds in the streets, the
foreign costumes, the Polish Jews in the Brilhl, and the
overcrowded public places. He says afterwards : — " The
first concert I heard in Leipzig was given by Mile. Sessi ;
the overture was played very steadily. I must make special
note of the contrabasso-player Wach. because, with his



PROFESSOR SCHULZE.



19



force and energy, he seemed to keep the whole orchestra
together." And again a few days afterwards we read : —
" To-day I was with Schicht, the Cantor of the Thomas
Schule, We had a long conversation about art and artists,
and he gave me tiie full benefit of his opinions on Beet-
hoven Among other things he affirmed that 'the Mount
of Olives' was not written in the oratorio style, and told the
story that when Beethoven had sent the work to the
publisher, the latter had thought it right to omit the chorus,
'Welchen Weg fliehen wir ? " (' Ah, whither shall we fly? ')
Beethoven was very indignant, condemned such conduct as
arbitrary, and wrote a very strong letter to the publishers.
Schicht seemed to think this curious, whereupon I clearly
set before him the proper point of view.

" At the house of Schulze, Professor of Music, I heard
several choruses and motets without accompaniment, ad-
mirably executed by his pupils, and these performances
were in the presence of Zelter, the severe critic, who hap-
pened to be at Leipzig at the time. I heard also in the
Thomas Church eight part motets and fugues sung with
much force and precision by pupils under the directorship
of my friend Cantor Schicht."

On the 6th of October the Gewandhaus concerts began.
Moscheles attended of course. Some interest may attach
to a programme of those days ; we therefore copy it from
the diarv : —

PART I.

Symphony . . . Mozart.

Aria .... Madame Sessi.

Pianoforte Concerto, written and played by Zeuner of St.

Petersburg.

Duet . . Madame Sessi and Herr Bergmann.

PART II.

Overture . . Andrew Romberg.

Aria . . . Wild.

Cavatina, with Guitar.

Lied, " Vergissmeinnicht."

Swiss Rondo ... By Zenner.

Finale. A chorus from Winter's " Power of Music."



20 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

Moscheles finds life in Leipzig extremely pleasant.
At Classig's coffee-house he falls in " dail}^ with the most
delightful company," hears "arrangements of the best sym-
phonies, overtures, and operas, with an almost complete
orchestra, that plays admirably." But the mediaeval cus-
tom of closing the city gates at dusk (Thorsperre"*, now
abolished, and being admitted only on payment of some
few groschen, frequently troubles him when he is returning
from visiting the Wiecks (the parents of the famous Clara
Schumann).

His own concert was to be given on the 8th of October.
"I was in great excitement," he says. " My pressing busi-
ness began as early as seven o'clock in the morning. In
accordance with the local custom, I paid the cashier before-
hand a bill receipted by the committee, charging sixty-six
thalers, twelve neugroschen, for the room and lights. The
rehearsal began at nine a. m. My overture to the ballet,
' Die Portraits,' was admirably performed at the first lead-
ing, but the orchestra wished to rehearse it again, and then
it exceeded my expectations. I cannot sufficiently praise
the horns and trombones, but beyond all the admirable
violin of Matthiii, the leader. The small audience collected
in the room was unanimous in applauding me, and the Al-
exander variations allured many of the orchestral players
away from their desks towards the piano, where they could
watch the execution of the difficult passages. In spite of
this success, my nervousness was so overpowering, in ex-
pectation of the evening, that I could not swallow a morsel.
In the afternoon I found my instrument in the concert-
room, well tuned and in good order, when I felt its pulse ;
ray own was anything but quiet. At five o'clock the room
was opened and lighted. Everything looked grand and
impressive, and half an hour afterwards some ladies ele-
gantly dressed arrived, so as to secure good places. It is
not easy to imagine a handsomer room, or one better fitted
for its purpose. I also found the seats arranged in a very
practical manner, and one which was quite new to me. At
half-past six, after I had swallowed a cup of tea with a drop
of rum in it, I gave the signal for the concert to begin, and
was received with applause on my appearance — a distinction
not given to every one in this place. My overture, owing



CONCER T AT AL TEiYB URG. 21

to the hearty co-operation of every one, surpassea my ex-
pectations. The public was so enthusiastic and unanimous
in its applause, that I look back to this evening as one of
the brightest and happiest of my life. A chorus by Schicht
followed. My Polonaise, which was shown to the best
advantage by the delicate accompaniment of three drums,
all admirably tuned, will probably never be more effect ive-
ly performed than here, or secure me more genuine ap-
plause. Between the parts the directors warmly congratu-
lated me.

In the second part we had Romberg's Capriccio for
Violin, played by Matthai ; the Alexander Variations, re-
peated with the same enthusiastic applause ; a Hymn by
Mozart ; then a pause of a few moments, after which 1 began
my Improvisation. The public, feeling more and more
interested, came nearer to me, and ended by regularly hem-
ming me in, so that I became the centre of a great and
admiring circle."

Such a success, on such difficult ground, was as surprising
as it was encouraging to Moscheles.

It was the universal wish that a second concert should
soon follow, and the 14th of October was the day fixed on.
"I had intended to-day," says the diary, "to introduce no
extraneous subject into my Improvisation, when coming to a
pause, the melody, " Das klinget so herrlich" (ZauberflCte)
involuntarily forced itself upon me. Two rounds of applause
rewarded my treatment of this subject."

Next morning Moscheles gave a dejei.ner to artists and
amateurs ; there were plenty of oysters and good wines, sup-
plemented by a musical entertainment. In the following
days he strolled about among the booths at the fair, and at-
tended some interesting theatrical performances ; he also
examined the battle-field, the gardens, streets and villages
through which the torrent of war had rolled. Councillor L.,
of Altenburg, arranged a concert for him at Altenburg, " in
which the enthusiasm of the good Leipzig people was loyally
repeated," Some new songs, as well as the Sestet, were
published by Hofmeister.

Delighted beyond measure with his artistic successes in
the musical city of Leipzig he prepared to go on to Dresden.
On his arrival there, after a tedious journey, and consider-



22 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

able bodily suffering, in consenuence of an affection of the
throat, he sought for some relief and forgetfulness of pain
by listening to Spontini's " Vestalin " given by an Italian
company. " The director is called Polledro, the singers
Madame Sandrini, Benelii, etc., etc. Their genuine Italian
method and extraordinary power of spontaneous vocalization
delighted me extremely, but I was so irritated with their con-
stant ritardando at the finish of each melodious phrase, and
the halts and draggings of the band, that I was obliged to
brood over my bodily ills, and only got through the three
acts by great effort. Myself and my pains I should com-
pletely have forgotten had I been present at a classical
opera, classically performed. The orchestra, of which 1 had
formed such great expectations, left much to be desired,
notably the first horn-player. One passage in the andante
of the overture could not be recognized." Moscheles about
this time was confined to his room for a month, by order of
his medical advisers, and beguiled this somewhat irksome
time by arranging his four heroic marches for an orchestra,
writing the Andante of the Sonata in E major, which he dedi-
cated to Beethoven, and arranging some other pieces be-
sides reading several of Goethe's works, Mendelssohn's
^'Phiidon," etc.

At last he was restored to health, and utilized the early
days of his newly acquired freedom by introducing him.self
to the artist world of Dresden. In the choir of the Catholic
church, during the performance of the mass, he m.ade the
acquaintance of Morlacchi, Polledro, Dotzauer, Benelii, and
other artists. *' I find the effect of the Mass grand " (we
read in the diary) ; " twenty violins, six violas, four basses
and violoncellos, with but one only of each of the wind in-
struments, with the exception of the four bassoons, the lead-
ing solos sung by Sassaroli." Further on we read : " I found
in August Klengel an interesting acquaintance. He plays
in the Clementi style, his toccatas, fugues, and gigues are as
solid as thev are artistic and thorough. Klengel and Zen-
ner often come to visit me, and play to me alternately."

At the next grand concert, he speaks of " the room as
inferior in many respects to that at Leipzig, the programme
itself meagre, and the performance rather consumptive."

The diary of this period contains several notes on mis-



ANECDOTE OF HA YDN.



23



cellaneous subjects. We give some few extracts. " Goethe
writes in the '• Neuen Melusine ' (a periodical), ' I must
confess that I have never been able to make much out of
music' A thing 1 naturally cannot understand," Moscheles
added. Further on : " I must note a proof of Haydn's love
of justice. Haydn heard that Beethoven had spoken in a
tone of depreciation of his oratorio the ' Creation.' 'That is
wrong of him,' said Haydn ; ' what has he v/ritten then t
His Septet t Certainly that is beautiful, nay, splendid ! ' he
added, in tones of earnest admiration, completely forgetting
the bitterness of the censure directed against himself" But
to revert to Dresden. Here Moscheles met with many ob-
stacles in the way of professional success ; first his own ill-
ness, then the intrigues of Polledro, who wanted himself to
give concerts, and finally the aggravating Court etiquette.
" At last," says Moscheles, " I got my foot firmly in, or
rather my hand, for 1 played, and with approval, first at the
house of the Austrian Ambassador, Count Bombelles, then
before Oberhofmeister Count Piatti, and Ober Stallmeister
Count Vitzthum, ending finally en the 20th of December by
a successful performance before the Court itself The Court
actually dined (this barbarous custom still prevails), and the
Royal household listened in the galleries, while 1 and the
Court band made music to them, and barbarous it really
was, but in regard to truth, I must add that Royalty, and
also the lackeys, kept as quiet as possible, and the former
actually so far condescended as to admit me to friendly con-
versation." His success secured for him what he had
hitherto in vain striven to acquire, the permission to have
the aid of the Royal band at his intended concert ; this per-
mission, invariably refused to all others, was granted to Mos-
cheles in recognition of his special merits. The musicians,
too, began to like him better ; Morlacchi and Schubert frus-
trated the intrigues of Polledro, who wished to give him the
weakest players in the orchestra, Count Piatti negotiated
with the ungracious landlord of the Hotel de Pologne for
the hire of the room, and the day of the concert was fixed
for the 28th of December. " In accordance with local usage,"
he says, " I gave tickets to each of the members of the or-
chestra. We rehearsed, and in the evening the concert
came off before a brilliant public, profuse in manifestations



24



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



of applause." Moscheles, in comparing the performance of
some pieces given at Leipzig and Dresden, gives the palm
10 the Leipzig orchestra.

The next place visited was Munich, where Moscheles,
after taking part in some grand performances, gave two con-
certs on his own account. He had letters of introduction
to Prince Eugene of Leuchtenberg and the Court ; the old
King Max was very kind and amiably disposed towards
him, and after hearing him play before the royal circle, pre-
sented him with a diamond ring. A pin with the letter E,
set in diamonds on an enamelled ground (a present from
Prince von Leuchtenberg), is still kept as a precious sou-
venir.

After playing at Augsburg before the ex-Queen Hortense,
Moscheles made an excursion to Holland, giving four con-
certs at Amsterdam, and one at the Hague. There he saw
for the first time the glorious sea, and he records the power-
ful impression made upon him. It was at Amsterdam that
he began his concerto in G minor, which he finished on the
4th of August, 1817. He says, "Since I daily heard the
chimes of the melancholy church bells, it was natural that I
should choose a minor key, and mark the first movement as
'malinconico.'" A first rehearsal of this concerto in the
" Liebhaber Gesellschaft " was a great success, but certainly
neither the listeners nor the author himself could have fore-
seen the long life in store for this favorite composition.

He next visited the Rhine and Belguim, and writes,
" Brussels is the preparation for Paris, both as regards lan-
guage and customs." The musical life in that city was one
of great activity, and Moscheles' performances were eagerly
welcomed.

On the 29th of December he reached Paris, and put up
at the Hotel de Bretagne. He writes thus : " The impres-
sion as I drove through the crowded streets, nnd watched
the brilliant shops filled with purchasers, will never be
effaced from my memory. Going out for a morning walk on
the 30th, whom should I meet but my friend Spohr — a good
omen ! Our joy on meeting was mutual, we were a long
time together, and sauntered on the Boulevard des Italiens.
Later in the day I accompanied him to the Palais Royal,
and in the evening we heard 'Don Juan' at the Italian Op



SPOHR. 25

era, given, to my surprise, in its integrity ; Fodor was a
charming Zerlina, and all the others good. We had, how-
ever, great trouble in getting into the theatre. The crowd
was so dense, that we were obliged to engage a man to take
tickets for us."



CHAPTER IV.
182 1.

Baron Poifere de Cere — Spohr — Gall the Phrenologist — Diary of a
Day — Concert at the Theatre Favart — Soirees with Lafont — Con-
certs Spirituels — A Curious Bet — An Evening at Ciceri's — The
Theatres of Paris — Christening of the Duke of Bordeaux — Mis-
taken for a Courier — London — A Learned Waiter — Musical Celeb-
rities — Her Majesty's Theatre — Braham — Soirees and Concerts
— Visit to Kalkbrenner — The Erards — August Leo.

DURING the first week of his stay in Paris, Moscheles
throughly explored the city in every direction, and his
delight in the novelty and sights is duly recorded in the
diary. Besides this, special mention is made of Spohr, who
frequently met Moscheles at the house of Baron Poifere de
Cere. The baron gave morning parties every Sunday,
where the aristocracy of artists, as well as the great world
of Paris, were numerously represented.

Spohr had entrusted Moscheles at one of his matin.'es
with the pianoforte part of his quintet in E flat (with wind
instruments), which was greatly applauded by the audience.
In addition to this, Moscheles was called on to improvise,
and was particularly happy to find Reicha and Kreutzer for
tlie first time among his audience. Moscheles and Spohr
attended the quintet and quartet parties given by Reicha
and Sina, and the two Germans delighted in finding our
great masters, Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, admirably
played and admired in the capital of France. The follow-
ing passage from the diary proves how anxious Moscheles
was to see those of his colleagues whom he himself revered,
in the enjoyment of full recognition by a French as well as
German public.

" Why does Spohr fail to awaken general enthusiasm
here ? Will the French, from a feeling of national pride,
acknowledge none but their own violin school ? Or is Spohr
too little communicative, too retiring for the Paris fashion-



SPOHR.



27



able world ? Enough that to-day he has been obliged tc
give up his intended evening concert from want of public
interest ; this really pains me. Yesterday, at a soirt'e at
the Valentins, he played in his E flat quartet, which passed
without the applause it well deserved — a man like Spohr ! "
Again we read : " At Baillot's, who had got up for Spohr
and myself a genuine soiree of artists, he was greeted with
real enthusiasm. I also played and improvised. He play-
ed, I played, and we each shared in a brotherly .way the
applause of this select audience."

Applause in this instance means no ordinary recogni-
tion, for we read in the diary the following names — Che-
rubini, Auber, Herold, Adam, Lesueur, Pacini, Paer, Mazas,
Habeneck, Plantade, Blangini, Lafont, Pleyel, Ivan Muller,
Strunz, Viotti, Ponchard, Pellegrini, the brothers Bohrer,
the famous singers Nadermann, Garcia, and others. Nor
were the leading journalists, such as Martinville, Mangin,
Bertin, wanting on these occasions. There were also pre-
sent Schlesinger, Boieldieu, Lemoine, the publishers, and
Pape, Petzold, Erard, and Freudenthaler, the pianoforte
makers, v/hose rivalries were a constant source of trouble
to Moscheles. At that time he preferred Pape's instru-
ments ; the Viennese pianos, with their lightness of touch,
had rather spoilt him for the slow and heavy action of the
Erards of that time.

The leading families in Paris became more and more
attracted towards Moscheles, partly to secure him as a
teacher, partly from the hope of hearing him at their ov/n
musical parties, but here, as in Vienna, he steadily devoted
his morning hours to pianoforte practice and composition.
" This work done," he says, " I plunge cheerfully into the
joys and delights of this great capital." He was loaded
wath invitations to dinners, balls, and all sorts of f.Ues.

The houses most notable for music were those of the
Princess Vaudemont, the Marquise de Montgeriult (a good
pianist herself, and the authoress of a very able work on
pianoforte playing), the Princess Ouwaroff, Madame Bon-
nemaison, who sang prettily, and Monsieur Mesny, to
whose daughter Moscheles dedicated his variations on the
theme, " Au clair de la lune." Music and dinner parties
were frequently given by the Prussian and other ambassa-



28 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

dors, and the " haute finance," represented by Lafitle,
Rothschild, Fould, and others, vied with each other in
hospitable and luxurious entertainments. There were bril-
liant assemblies also at the d'Hervillys', Matthias', and
Valentins". '• There is less grandeur at the Valentins',''
says Moscheles, " but for that very reason I feel more at
home with them." The first publisher of Goethe in the
French language. Monsieur Pankouke and his wife, re-
ceived Moscheles with the greatest cordiality. " They were
so delighted to see me that, when I joined their large party,
I was greeted with clapping of hands."

At that time he was brought into contact with Gall, the
famous phrenologist. " He did not know me, but, at the
suggestion of some friends, examined my skull, and found,
in addition to my decided organization for music, the bump
of mathematics, a passion for travelling, and a memory for
persons and things I "

We extract from the diary the description of a single day
(28th January), which may, with its varied occupations, be
taken as a correct type of many others during Moscheles'
stay in Paris. " This morning, Herr Strunz brought Rigel,
the pianoforte player, to my house, to hear me play. At
eleven a. m. I rehearsed at Paer's with Baillot for this
evening ; then I went, or rather ran, with him at full speed
to the Court Chapel in the Tuileries, where we heard a
glorious mass by Cherubini, admirably performed, as might
be expected with the co-operation of such men as Kreutzer,
Baillot, Habeneck. Plantade directed, and Cherubini, who
talked to me, was among the audience. After this Spohr
and I went to the rehearsal of Lafont's concert in the
Theatre Favart, and on our return home, we had long and
animated discussions on musical matters. Schlesinger
and 1 dined at the famous but expensive Restaurant the
Freres Proven9aux (I am not always so luxurious). Then
I drove with PaGr, Levasseur, Rigaud-Pallard and his wife,
to the large evening party given by the Duchess of Orleans.
There was a large Court circle assembled. Besides the
vocal pieces, I played with Baillot my Potpourri, and was
obliged to improvise twice. I was received with favor and
kindness."

Moscheles, in giving public performances in Paris, had



CONCERT AT THE THEATRE FAVART. 29

many difficulties to contend with, and there were constant
negotiations with the Marquis Lauriston and M. de la
Ferte, before he managed to fix on the 25th of February for
his concert in the Theatre Favart. We have the following
notice of the concert and matters incidental to it: "I was
still busy in the forenoon in addinsc trombone parts to my
concerto, distributing boxes and free tickets ; in the after-
noon I went to the Theatre Favart to try my piano, one
of Pape's. Ever since the rehearsal it had been specially
guarded by one of his men, to prevent any trick being
played. The concert passed off successfully. The attend-
ance and receipts were all in keeping with the artistic hon-
ors showered upon me ; but woe to the artist if ever in
public he violates the forms of etiquette and politeness,
fhe singer Bordogni was hissed, because, from forgetful-
ness or intention, he did not offer to conduct Mademoiselle
Cinti back to her seat after finishing their duet.''

Besides this concert, Moscheles gave another with
Lafont, and four soirees with the same artist : the fourth and
last was given on the 21st of May, for the benefit of a poor
family. The two artists played on this, and on other occa-
sions, a Potpourri on subjects by Gluck, Mozart, and Rossini.
It was their joint composition, and, blending as it did the
thoughts of three such different schools of art, proved highly
interesting. Both artists were so much patronized by the
fashionable world of Paris that Count Senzillon had arranged
a concert for them at Versailles also. They arrived with
their piano and violin, had a rehearsal, walked about the cas-
tle and park, played to a very enthusiastic audience, and re-
turned well satisfied. Moscheles remarks upon Lafont :
" He was a sentimental artist, not only as a violin player,
but also as a vocalist, and knew how to draw many a tear
from the eyes of the fair ones by singing the Romanza ' La
Larme.' His wife also sang romances. She was as pretty
as she was voiceless, and this called for the following pointed
remark in a newspaper : ' Madame Lafont a chnnu'-, elle a
de beaux yeux.' " Moscheles often entertained parties of
jovial artists at his lodgings; music, punch, and supper
were going on up to three in the morning. Whoever could
play or sing was present, and good music alternated with
amusing tiicks played upon the respective instrunicnts.



30



RECEXT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



" Altogether," he writes, "it is a happy, merry time ! Cer-
tainly, at the last state dinner of the Rothschilds, in the pres-
ence of such notabilities as Canning or Narischkin, I was
obliged to keep rather in the background. The invitati<3n
to a large, brilliant, but ceremonious ball appears a very
questionable way of showing me attention. The drive up,
the endless queue of carriages, wearied me, and at last I
got out and walked. There, too, I found little pleasure."
On the other hand, he praises the performance of Cluck's
opera, at the house of the Erards. The ' concerts spirituels'
delight him. " Who would not," he says, " envy me this
enjoyment ? These concerLs justly enjoy a world-wide celeb-
rity. There I listen with the most solemn earnestness."
On the other hand, there are cheerful episodes, and jovini
dinners with Carl Blum and Schlesinger, at the Restaurant
Lemelle. '• Yesterday," he writes, "Schlesinger quizzed me
about my slowness in eating, and went so far as to make the
stupid bet with me, that he would demolish three dozen oys-
ters wliile I ate one dozen, and he was quite right. On per-
ceiving, however, that he was on the point of winning, I
took to making faces, made him laugh so heartily, that he
couldn't go on eating ; thus I won my bet.' We find the
following notice on the 20th of March : " I spent the even-
ing at Ciceri's, son-in law of Isabey, the famous painter,
where I was introduced to one of the most interesting cir-
cles of artists. In the first room were assembled the most
famous painters, engaged in drawing several things for their
own amusement. In the midst of these was Cherubini, also
drawing. I had the honor, like every one ne.vly introduced,
of having my portrait taken in caricature. Bv'gasse took me
in hand, and succeeded well. In an adjoining room were
musicians and actors, among them Ponchard, Levasseur,
Dugazon, Panseron, Mile, de Munck, and Mad. LivCre, of
the Theatre Franyais. The most interesting of their per-
formances, which I attended merely as a listener, was a
vocal quartet by Cherubini, performed under his direction.
Later in the evening, the whole party armed itself with
krger 01 smaller ' Mirlhons ' (reed pipe whistles), and on
these small monotonous instruments, sometimes made of
sugar, they played, after the fashion of Russian horn music,
the oveiture to Demophon, two frying-pans representing the



SOIREES WITH LAFONT. 3!

drums." On the 27th of March this "Mirliton" concert
was repeated at Ciceri's, and on this occasion Cherubini
took an active part. Moscheles relates of that evening :
" Horace Vernet entertained us with his ventriloquizing
powers, M. Salmon w^th his imitation of a horn, and Dugazon
actually with a Mirliton solo. Lafont and I represented the
classical music, v/hich, after all, held its own."

We find many an interesting notice of the theatres,
nearly all of which Moscheles visited in succession. In
Franconi's Cirque Olym pique, in the Faubourg du Temple,
he saw the harrowing story of Ugolino, a falling tower, and
other startling eftects, produced by machinery. At the
Porte St. Martin, the burlesque of " Les Petites Danaides "
and Potier's exquisite comic acting created a furore. Peo-
ple laughed in tiie " Varietes " at Scribe's pieces, written in
his earliest best time, such as**' L'Ours et le Pacha," " La
Champenoise," " Les Voitures Vers'es," etc. At the
Gymnase he was enchanted with the appearance and play-
ing of the lovely actress Esther. Perlet's comedy made
him •' die of laughing ; and," says he, " words cannot be
found " to describe Talma's " Mithridates." The " Jeune
Femme CoKre " of Mademoiselle Mars draws from him the
observation ; " The acting of this great artiste must live for
ever in the memory of any fortunate enough to have seen
her." He was greatly interested by a pilgrimage to the
graves of Rousseau and Voltaire, and enjoyed with the en-
thusiasm of youth and a keen susceptible nature the art-
treasures of Paris, and the charm of its environs. These
delights, however, are only briefly hinted at in the diary.
A thorough musician, Moscheles records again and again
his musical impressions. Thus, for example : " I drove
early with Lafont to the Hotel de Ville, where Cherubini's
new Cantata, and the Intermede by Boieldieu and Berton,
written for the christening of the Duke of Bordeaux, were re-
hearsed. The first of these works was under the direction
of the great master himself. His squeaky, sharp little
voice was sometimes heard in the midst of his conducting,
and interrupted my state of ecstasy, caused by his presence
and composition. The whole of the magnificent and far-
famed Court band was in attendance. The Prefect, Count
Chabrol, and his wife, whom I met at this rehearsal, offered



32



RE CEN T M US] C A ND M U ST CI A NS.



me, in the most friendly manner, a ticket for the grand ball
to be given in honor of the christening. In the evening I
attended the general rehearsal of an opera which Cherubini,
PaCT, Berton, Boieldieu, and Kreutzer had jointly composed
in honor of this same christening. The final chorus by
Cherubini made an indelible impression on my mind. Each
master conducted his own pieces, and Cherubini was loudly
clieered.

"On the morning of 30th of April, present at another
rehearsal of the Interm^ de at the Hotel de Ville, under the
direction of the composers, Boieldieu and Berton. Rigaud-
Pallard and Boulanger, M.M. Bouchard and Huet, sang.
Immense crowds of people and a host of carriages are
moving about. To-day is evidently the beginning of the
grand festivities."

" May I. — Christening of the little Duke of B ordeaux.
The whole of Paris turned out ; the streets were crowded.
I could not stay much within doors. I saw the procession
on its way to the Church of Notre Dame, then went to the
Tuileries, where the Duchess, standing on the balcony,
showed her infant to the enthusiastic crowd. In the even-
ing I joined a party of friends to see the illuminations.
Those in the Tuileries gardens made the scene one of
fairy -land.

"May 2. — The Intermjde given in a brilliant manner
in the Salle du St. Esprit in the Hotel de Ville.

" May 9. — To-day I played in the Hotel de Ville, where
the City of Paris gave a grand banquet to the Provincial
Deputies ; Cherubini, Boleidieu, and Berton directed the
music. The IntermC'de was repeated. Lafont also played.

" May 13. — I went with friends to the Villette, to witness
the inauguration of the Canal St. Denis. The Court party
were rowed about in gayly decked gondolas or yachts ; the
crowd was enthusiastic."

A few days later he writes : " The festivities, and my
stay at Paris, are drawing to a close, and I have every
reason to feel grateful. As an artist I have had great suc-
cess, and in a material point of view I can announce to my
mother that I have been doing extremely well. She shall
enjoy my good fortune with me.'

We have already mentioned that, after the early death



M/:>rAK'EJV .rOK A COURIER.



33



of Moscbeles' father, the widow and her five young children
were left completeh^ unprovided for — it is delightful to
record that the constant and beneficent care bestowed by
Moscheles on his mother and sisters dates from this success
in the French capital. His brother, too, whose weakly
health never allowed him to enjoy complete independence,
was an object of his tenderest solicitude, and so cheerfully
did he render this assistance, that it was a source of happi-
ness to both giver and receiver, it lightened the sense of
obligation.

His most intimate Parisian friends having vied with
each other in showing him kindness and hospitality, Mos-
cheles gave them in return a dinner at the Fr(}res Proven-
9aux, and finally left Paris on the 23d of May. The
coach, owing to unfavorable weather, did not reach Calais
until the evening of the 24th. The wind was contrary, no
sailing vessel could leave the harbor until the 26th. " A
day never to be forgotten by me ! " he says. " We spent
fully fourteen hours on the stormy sea. I was tormented
with all the sufferings of sea-sickness. At last, at midnight,
when we were getting near Dover, and the steward asked
me for my passage fare, I only had strength to point to my
well-filled pocket. ' For shame ! ' exclaimed the feiiow, a
courier, and so sea sick ! ' And whence did I get this title
of a courier? At the Austrian Embassy they had stamped
the large packet of my music with the Imperial seal, and
inscribed it ' Despatches,' so that I might travel free of tax
and delay, and the steward of course supposed I was the
bearer of dispatches, crossing and recrossing the Channel
frequently.

" On arrival at Dover I soon recovered, and the follow-
ing morning started in the mail-coach, which in twelve
hours brought me to London. Little did I think that there
I was to find my second home."

"Yesterday evening'' (we quote from the diary of the
28th of May), " I arrived at the Golden Cross Hotel, in
Charing Cross. Early this morning, when I told the waiter
hov/ I admired the ' Platz,' he explained, with a scholar-like
air, that the very spot on which we stood had been one of
the halting-places at the time when the body of Queen
Eleanor was carried to Westminster Abbey for interment,



34 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

that crosses had then been erected at all the halting-places
of the funeral procession, and that this present Charing-
Cross took its name from the then village of Charing, which
in those days formed the site of the present ' Platz' and its
surroundings. All this was new to me with my hazy ideas of
England's history and London geography. Little did I think
that this strange London was to become my second home."

Launched into the metropolis of the British Empire,
Moscheles plunged, full of youthful fire and energy, into the
musical and fashionable world, as he had done before at
Paris. He wished above all things to hear music and be
listened to, and just as many opportunities presented
themselves in London as in Paris. Players on his own
instrument, such as J. B. Cramer, F. Ries, Kalkbrenner,
entered the lists with him, and men like Clementi were the
judges. (Moscheles at that time played by preference on
Clementi's pianos.)

Moscheles writes of his colleague Cramer : " His inter-
pretation of Mozart, and his own Mozart-like compositions,
are like breathings * from the sweet south,' but nevertheless
he shows no hostility to me and my bravura style ; on the
contrary, in public and private he pays me the sinceresl
homage, which I requite with heartfelt admiration. Cra-
mer is exceedingly intellectual and entertaining ; he has a
sharp satirical vein, and spares neither his own nor his
neighbor's foibles. He prefers to converse in French, and
shows by his manners that he has spent much of his early
life in France.

" He is one of the most inveterate snuff-takers. Good
housekeepers maintain that after every visit of the great
master, the floor must be cleansed of the snuff he has spilt,
while I, as a pianoforte player, cannot forgive him for dis-
figuring his aristocratic, long, thin fingers, with their beauti-
fully-shaped nails, by the use of it, and often clogging the
action of the keys. Those thin, well shaped fingers are
best suited for legato playing ; they glide along impercepti-
bly from one key to the other, and whenever possible,
avoid octave as wxll as staccato passages. Cramer sings
on the jDiano in such a manner that he almost transforms a
Mozart andante into a vocal piece, but I must resent the
liberty he takes in introducing his own and frequently triv-



M USICA L CELEB RI TIE S.



35



ial embellishinents." Further on we read : " His newly
composed Sonata in D minor gives me great delight, and oui
friendly relationship is all the warmer from the sincere
admiration I bestow on that work.

''With Ferdinand Ries, too, I pass very happv musical
hours, fori eagerly embrace the opportunity of becomino:
acquainted with a man whose admirable Concerto (in C
sharp minor) I had performed in public at Vienna." Each
performer wished to hear the earliest and latest compositions
of the other, and they tested each other's powers in pieces
written for four hands. Kindred sympathies were fostered,
and a lasting friendship promoted by their profound venera-
tion for Beethoven, the master of Ries. At that time Ries
had ceased to appear in pubHc as a pianoforte player, and
lived entirely as a professional teacher and con)poser ;
his lessons and writings were both sources of honor and
income, so that as early as the year 1824 he ret red to
Godesberg, in tlie neighborhood of Bonn, and lived there
with his amiable wife and family, a well-to do and esteemed
artist. There he continued to compose music ; his piano-
forte pieces, and particularly his violin Sonatas, were great-
ly esteemed in Vienna, as well as other German musical
cities. As to his orchestral work^, they met with no
greater success than those of Clementi. Overtures and
symphonies by both of them were performed at the Phil-
harmonic Concerts, but soon disappeared from the pro-
grammes in England, as well as in other countries. Mos-
cheles spent the greatest part of his leisure hours with
Kalkbrenner, Dizi, the harp-player, and Latour. "Dizi," he
says, "has the most charming house at Crabtree, in the
neighborhood of London ; a pretty drive by the side of the
Thames brings me to the place, and as the heavy London
atmosphere oppresses me and gives me bad headaches,
which t never knew formerly, Dizi and his wife wish me
to visit them frequently, and kindly place a bed at my dis-
posal."

Kalkbrenner and Latour being, like Moscheles, reofular
visitors at the house, music was the order of the day. Kalk-
brenner was known in the musical world as a brilliant piano-
forte-pbyer. Moscheles admired the power and elasticity
of his lingers, enjoyed reading pieces for two perfoimers



3 6 J^^ CEN T M USIC A ND M U SI CI A NS.

with him, but condemned his octave passages played with a
loose wrist. " It is a bad method," he writes in the diary,
" and not a sound one. He took me to hear the young
people who study with Logier, but I could not share his
admiration of this newly invented system, although I think
Logier and his wife a clever and artistic couple. Would I
have any one follow this system ? I hardly think so. The
mind should work more intensely than the fingers, and how
can there be a question of 7nind when two pupils play the
same piece at the same time ? "

Dizi was an excellent artist on his own instrument ;
Latour also was a painstaking pianoforte teacher and able
composer of light pieces, which he published himself At
that time, as now, there was a great influx and variety of
artistic celebrities in London. There was Kiesewetter, the
admirable violin-player, the superlatively great Mara and
still greater Catalani. besides Dragonetti, who for many
years together held successfully the foremost place as double-
bass player. Dragonetti was an original of the purest water.
Moscheles says of him : " In his ' salon ' in Leicester Square,
he has collected a large number of various kinds of dolls ;
among them a negress. When visitors are announced, he
politely receives them, and says that this or that young lady
will make room for them ; he also asks his intimate acquaint-
ances whether his favorite dolls look better or worse since
their last visit, and similar absurdities. He is a terrible
snufif-taker, helping himself out of a gigantic box, and he has
an immense and varied collection of snuff- boxes. The most
curious part of him is his language — a regular jargon, in
which there is a mixture of his native Bergamese, bad
French, and still worse English."

In the earliest days of his stay in London, Moscheles
visited His Majesty's Theatre (Haymarket), and was not a
little astonished that, in conformity with a troublesome cus-
tom, people had to appear in evening dress. " It was a
fortunate thing for me," he says, " to have to listen to the
'Turco in Italia,' with its light, shallow music, for I could
give myself up to entire enjoyment in the excellent singing
of a Camporese, an Ambrogetti, and feast my eyes, as I sat
in the pit, on the brilliant company in the boxes. This
galaxy of charming and beautiful women, with their elegant



SOIREES AND CONCERTS.



37



toilettes and jewels, and the house brilliantly illuminated,
formed a splendid scene." The English operas at Drury
Lane interested him very much, and he was delighted with
Braham, whose wonderfully beautiful tenor voice had been
most effectively trained by his friend Madame Camporese.
He also found the other singers admirably taught, Miss
Wilson, the prima donna, less attractive than the others, and
the audience at Drury Lane less elegant and fashionable
than the habitu"s of the Italian Opera.

Descending in the theatrical scale, he visited the Surrey
Theatre, where he saw a sensational melodrama, which gave
him no kind of pleasure. On the other hand, he was greatly
amused with a small French company performing in the
Argyle Rooms. This troupe was supported by the nobility
for its own entertainment, and at its own expense. Astley's
Theatre rivalled that of Franconi in its splendid performance
of " Gil Bias." Moscheles says of Hyde Park in those
days : " I admire the splendid horses and carriages, their
fair occupants, reclining lazily on soft cushions, and the
Amazons on their spirited horses. The Park itself is quite
bare, without tree or shrub. I have hardly ever seen any-
thing like it, and I couldn't help thinking of Byron's words :

" Those vegetable puncheons called parks
With neither fruit nor flower to satisfy
Even a bee's slight munchings."

In later years he was able to enjoy the Parks decked out
with flowers, and so endlessly beautified and improved. In
London, as in Paris, the diary refers, generally speaking, to
matters essentially musical.

" May 28th. — Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony was very
fairly executed under Kiesewetter's direction at the Phil-
harmonic Society's Concert, the drums too noisy. There
was some fine singing by Mrs. Salmon and others, and all
the concerted pieces went with remarkable precision."

*' May 30th. — Heard the famous flute player Tulou at
his own concert in the Argyle Rooms. A medley of vocal
pieces sung by Goodall, Vestris, Camporese, Salmon, Signor
Ambrogetti, and others. Mademoiselle Buchwald, a very
clever pupil of Kalkbrenner, played in his Septet."

"June ist. — ^let Clementi by agreement at his piano-



38 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

forte warehouse, and played some things to him, with which
he declared himself extremely pleased. Afterwards called
on Prince Esterhazy, Prince Leopold, Lords Lowther and
Castlereagh. In the evening, at a concert given by Vau-
ghan the singer, I heard Cramer again play with rare delicacy
a concerto of Mozart's. The grand choruses and vocal
selections from Handel's Oratorios, with the organ accom-
paniment, impressed me as being given with unusual pre-
cision and effect."

" June 6th. — At the ancient concert (in the Hanover
Square Rooms), Handel's 'Messiah' was given in all its
grandeur and simple majesty. The organ accompaniments
were supplemented in the full passages by wind instruments.
The chief soloists were Mrs. Salmon, Miss Stephens, and
Mr. Vaughan. It seemed strange to me that, instead of
boys, elderly men sang the contralto part with the head
voice. The famous Hallelujah Chorus was given in very slow
time The obligato trumpet parts attracted my attention."'

"June 9th. — In the evening went with Cramer to the
dinner of the Royal Society of Musicians."

"June nth. — Important day. My first appearance at
the last Philharmonic Concert. I had great success in my
E flat concerto, and the Alexander variations. This piece
had been named in England the ' Fall of Paris' (a circum-
stance which exposed me in after-years to some unpleasant
remarks in the French papers)."

" July 4th. — At last my concert, which cost me such
trouble to arrange, came off to day in the Argyle Rooms.
The Concerto and the ' Clair de Lune Variations' went well,
and were very favorably received ; but what pleased most
was my extempore playing on the air, ' My lodging is on the
cold ground.' Cramei accompanied the vocal pieces on
the piano. Mrs. Salmon, Camporese, the Ashes, Corri,
Begrez, and Braham were the singers. I was also assisted
by the violinist Kori/*'

"July nth. — A grand evening musical party at the
Rothschilds', at their country house on Stamford Hill,
given to the foreign Ministers present in England on
account of the approaching coronation of George IV. I
was introduced to most of the Ministers, who, with the old
Prince Esterhazy, expressed themselves greatly pleased with



VISIT TO KALKBRENNER. 3g

my playing. In the intervals vocal solos and quartets were
given by English singers. Not at home lill four o'clock in
the morning."

"July 19th. — To-day being the coronal ion-day, T went
early to the vicinity of the Abbey. Saw the brilliant pro-
cession, and the banquet in Westminster Hall."

Moschcles, before leaving London, wrote his rondo for
piano and horn, arranged the choruses from ' Timotheus"
for the piano, heard the //^^Cavatina of "di tanti palpiti,"
from Rossini's " 'I'ancredi," sung by Catalani, and in the
evening was invited to her house. At last the farewell
visits were paid, and when it came to Prince Esterhazy's
turn, the Prince handed over to him a new passport, with
the title of " Kammervirtuos." He took an unwilling leave
of the London art-v/orld, but was delighted to get awav
from the London atmosphere ; " the heavy air," he calls it
in his diary, " which so often gives me headaches, that I am
glad to leave it." Then he made his way back to France,
taking Boulogne on his road, and visiting Kalkbrenner, at
the Chateau Pralin. There, until the following October,
he led a cheerful, quiet country \\\%, devoting much time to
music. Madame Kalkbrenner, a highly intellectual woman,
was a most amiable hostess, and he wrote for her, in grati-
tude for the hospitality he received, his rondo " La Ten-
erezza." In this rural retreat he composed three " AUegri
di Bravura," which he dedicated to Cramer, and a brilliant
Polonaise in E flat. Constant pianoforte playing, reading
of musical scores, and French studies, filled up the rest of
his time.

He had only just returned to Paris when Lafont per-
suaded him to make a tour with him to Normandy, and
give concerts jointly. These were brilliantly successful.
In Paris, Moscheles was in constant requisition. Among
the soirees at which he assisted, special mention is made
of one at the Duchesse de Berry's, which Pacr conducted,
and where Garcia, Galli, Bordogni, and the lovely Fodor
sang. Further on we read : '"Young Erard took me to-day
to his pianoforte factory, to try the new invention of his
uncle Sebastian. This quicker action of the hammer
seems to me so important that I prophesy a new era in the
manufacture of pianofortes. I still complain of some



40 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS

heaviness in the touch, and therefore prefer to play upon
Papa's and Petzold's instruments ; I admired the Erards,
but am not thoroughly satisfied, and urged him to make
new improvements." The last evening of the year Mos-
cheles spent with a small circle of friends at the house of
August Leo.*

* August Leo, a well-known German amateur at Paris, related to
Mrs. Moscheles.



CHAPTER V.
1822.

Malzel's Metronome — New "Work by Beethoven — Mile. Mock,
(Madame Pleyel) — Concert at Rouen — London — Cramer's Con-
cert — A New Work of Moscheles — Broadwcod's Pianos — F.
Cramer — London Rehearsals — Bochsa, the Harp-player — Monster
Programme — Fashionable Soirees — Concert for the Poor Irish —
Excursion to Brighton — At Home in England,

IN the beginning of this year Miilzel came before the
public with his Metronome, on the invention of which
he had worked for years. Finding, however, endless diffi-
culties in introducing it, he was obliged to provide himself
with the bare necessaries of subsistence by the exhibition
of his trumpeter automaton, and his dolls squeaking out
* papa and mamma." The appearance of a new work by
Beethoven was always an event for Moscheles, and the
beginning of this year was made memorable by the publica-
tion of the two new sonatas (op. 109 and no). Moscheles
studied them with the greatest zeal, was quite absorbed in
their beauties, and played them before his art Iprethren, and
in particular to his friend August Leo, whom he credits
with a genuine understanding of music, and a graceful turn
for composition. Around Leo was collected a circle of
Germans whose musical centre was Moscheles, and who
were unanimous in their reverential homage of Beethoven.

"A second event was the appearance of Weber's " Frey-
schiitz." This work, too, was welcomed by that circle with
enthusiasm, its beauties enjoyed in the pianoforte arrange-
ment, and the new era which seemed to have dawned on
dramatic art in Germany was discussed often and thor-
oughly.

Moscheles himself wished to introduce as a novelty, at
the grand concert which he intended giving with Lafont,
Beethoven's Choral Fantasia, but this was no easy matter.



42 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

A German musician, of the name of Lecerf, gladly prom-
ised the co-operation of a choral body under his direc-
tion. The music was rehearsed again and again ; but the
ejaculations in the diary at the amount of labor required in
the preparation of this particular work seem endless. The
't/f&xt translated by Theolon was revised and altered by
Moscheles himself, at the sacrifice of many a midnight
hour. In spite of this, the audience which filled the salon
of the opera-house to overflowing had not the faintest con-
ception of the composer's meaning. Moscheles com-
plains ; " I know not whether the piece was too long for
the Parisian public, or whether false intonation of the cho-
ruses injured the effect — enough, the performance was
almost a failure. Everything that Lafont and I played as
solos and duets was received enthusiastically, so also were
Cinti and Nourrit, the vocalists, and Ivan Miller with his
clarinet. Receipts, 8oco francs."

An unforeseen annoyance followed. An ignorant critic,
contributing to the '• Miroir," fell foul of Moscheles, re-
proaching him with having himself added the choruses, and
making thereby the Fantasia dull and wearisomely long.
Moscheles was therefore obliged to justify himself publicly
in the papers.

On the Dimanche Gras and Shrove Tuesday we find
Moscheles in the wdiirl and tumult of the Carnival. The
endless number of carriages, the picturesque confusion and
drollery of the processions and masks, the mad crowd fol-
lowing the Boeuf Gras — all these things delighted and
amused him. In spite of all these distractions he found
time on the Shrove Tuesday to continue and finish the
Adagio of his E flat concerto.

Of his lady pupils at this period, the most interesting
was Mademoiselle Mock (afterwards Madame Pleyel;,
whose great talent he took a true pleasure in cultivating.
It was also flattering to him that the immortal Catalani,
who this winter gave four crowded concerts at short inter-
vals, entrusted him with the teaching of her niece.

In March Moscheles spent a fortnight at Rouen, several
influential families inviting him there. They were active
and zealous in showing him the interesting city and its
environs, as well as everything memorable connected with



CONCER T AT RO UEN.



43



the history of Jeanne d'Arc. Pape himself brought the
best of his pianofortes from Paris, and the tickets for the
impending concerts were soon disposed of. He writes:
" Without drudgery and running about, nothing is ever
done ; those confounded theatrical directors take care of
that. The local manager here is called Van Ofen, and
refuses his singers. Of course the influential friends inter-
posed in my favor, and finally succeeded in bringing round
the troublesome manager. The concert was a great suc-
cess, and a second one asked for and granted."

In fulfilment of a former promise Moscheles returned to
Paris, to conduct a performance of Mozart's Requiem at
Leo's, who had admirably rehearsed the choruses.

On Easter Sunday he played by request, at the " Con-
cert Spirituel," his Potpourri with Lafont, but took as the
theme of his improvisation a church choral, which seemed
to him to be suited to the day.




I



-^m^



W-



les - lis rex glo



i



mor - te

tr



1=:



1^



ho - di



al - le - lu



ja.



"Again I succeeded on this occasion," we read in the
diary, " in communicating to the public my own inspiration."

The Paris season ended, Moscheles joyfully accepted
the invitation of his friends to return to London. " There,"
he says, "I found J. B. Cramer on the point of giving his
yearly concert. He showed me two movements of a Son-
ata which he wished to play with me, and expressed a
desire that I should compose a third movement as a finale ;
only I was not to put any of my octave passages into his
part, which he pretended he could not play. I can refuse



44



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



him nothing. I shall therefore be obliged to strive and
write something analogous for him, the disciple of Mozart
and Handel. He played to me a part of his new pianoforte
quintet, dedicated to me — a genuine Cramer composition.
He urged me to play to him the three allegri di bravura, * la
force, la legerete, et le caprice,' which I dedicated to him."
The piece which Moscheles wrote in haste for this
concert of Cramer's, as a finale to his friend's sonata, is the
Allegro of the well known and constantly played " Hom-
mage a Handel," which he afterwards converted into an
independent piece, by composing an introduction to it, and
publishing it in this form for two pianos. This novelty, on
the occasion of the first performance at Cramer's concert
on the 9th of May, created a furore. To hear Moscheles,
of whom the newspapers said " that his execution is most
wonderful, and more wonderful because he always makes
the right use of his genius," playing together with "glorious
John," and in addition to that, in a composition on which
both had worked, was "an unrivalled treat, an unprece-
dented attraction." Each of them had chosen a Broad-
wood instrument, Cramer as usual, Moscheles only on this
occasion. " The strong metal plates," observes Moscheles,
*' used by Broadwood in building his instruments, give a
heaviness to the touch, but a fullness and vocal resonance
to the tone, which are well adapted to Cramer's legato, and
those fingers softly gliding from key to key ; I, however,
use dementi's more supple mechanism for my repeating
notes, skips, and full chords." Cramer's D minor concerto,
and the new quintet led by his brother Francois, in which
Lindley, the favorite violoncello player, besides Dragon-
etti and Moralt, took part, pleased exceedingly. F. Cramer
was a good musician, a great admirer of his brother, but
himself merely a clever practical artist, without any genius
for composition. He was well known as a teacher and
leader at the Ancient and Philharmonic Concerts, as well
as at the provincial musical festivals. Moscheles played
his G minor concerto, which he had lately reconstructed,
first at the Philharmonic, and afterwards at his own concert,
with much applause. On the last occasion he was sup-
ported by the charming Cinti, Kiesewetter, and Dizi, the
excellent harp-player. Everything went well and effect-



B CHS A , THE HA R P-PL A YER.



45



ively together. " We have, however," he writes, " rehearsed
here quite in a dififerent manner from what people usually
do, for, generally speaking, there is no rehearsal at all,
often one half of the band runs once through the music.
And what do the singers do ? They sing incessantly the
few things which the orchestra know, and which the public
is never weary of hearing."

A few days later we read : " What are all concerts
compared with that given by that charlatan Bochsa, the
harp-player.? I have heard only one short sample of it,
but copy out for myself the programme, although even this
in itself is a gigantic .work. Indeed, the incredible length
of the concert deserves to be marked and catalogued as
a curiosity.

PART I.

1. Overture to the oratorio, the "Redemption," by

Handel.

2. Air, sung by Bellamy.

3. Air from " Joshua." Miss Goodall.

4. Duet. " Israel in Egypt."

5. Chorus.

6. Air from " Judas Maccabaeus."

7. Air from ' Semele."

8. Air from " Theodora."

9. Chorus from " Saul."

10. March from " Judas Maccabaeus."
II Air from the " Redemption."

12. Chorus from "Israel in Egypt."

13. Duet from " Figaro."

14. Alexander Variations (played by myself).



PART II.



15-
16.



17-

18.



Six pieces from " Bajazet," a musical drama by
Lord Berghersh.
19.

20. J

21. Violin concerto by Viotti, played by Morl

22. Recitative and chorus from the " Mose." Rossini.



46 ^E CEX T M USIC A KD M U SI CI A A S.

23. Quintet.

24. Duet from " Figaro," sung by Camporese and Car

TONI.

25. Air from " Jephthah."

26. Duet from ^'Tancredi," by Rossini, sung by Ma-

dame Vestris and Begrez.

27. Recitative and air from the " Creation," sung by

ZOCHELLI.

28. Recitative and air from Handel's " Penseroso," sung

by Miss Stephens.

29. Final chorus from Beethoven's '' Mount of Olives."

Moscheles remarks : " This monster programme puts
even Astley's Theatre in the shade, where in one evening
the public is treated to a Scotch Hercules, several tight-rope
dancers, two Laplanders, two dogs and a bear ! "

The grand soirees to which Moscheles was invited, to
play before persons of exalted rank, were not at all after
his taste. " Hovv different," he exclaims, "is rrusic-making
in these hot, overcrowded rooms, compared with our quiet
reunions among musicians ! Heaven be thanked, 1 did
not fare as badly as poor Lafont, v/ho in the middle of a

piece was tapped on the shoulder by the Duke of , with

' C est assez, mon cher." I am applauded when I tickle
their ears."

The bright side of the matter was the substantial profit
and the consciousness of professional success. " There is
something interesting, too, in being invited to the house of
a Chateaubriand, and meeting frequently princes, statesmen,
and men of science. I was particularly pleased to make
the acquaintance of Mrs. Siddons, and the distinguished
actor Charles Young, in whom I recognize a highly culti-
vated and amiable man." The ball given for the poor Irish
is mentioned as a very splendid f^te. King George IV.,
who was present, had ordered the Grand Opera House to
be magnificently decorated. The receipts were enormous,
for 3000 tickets were disposed of; as much as fifteen guin-
eas was given for a single ticket, the original cost being
two. Towards the end of this season, we find Moscheles
busy with a thorough revision of several of his works, espe-
cially the Alexander Variations. For the latter he wrote a



AT HOME IN ENGLAND.



47



new introduction, Boosey and Schulz preparing the new
edition. Fresh editions, too, of the other works were made.
The Rondo " Charmes de Paris" was published, Moscheles'
pianoforte edition of Mehul's opera, "Valentine de Milan,"
engraved, and last of all the publication started of the
'•Bonbonni^re Musicale,'' the first number of which Mos-
cheles dedicated to the young daughter of Horace Vernet,
who drew a charming vignette for the title-page.

Accompanied by his friends, J. B. Cramer, Sir Georee
Smart, and Kiesewetter, Moscheles made a short excursion
to Brighton. Music there was represented by the Director
of the Royal Band, Kramer (not to be confounded with the
brothers Cramc^r already mentioned). This gentleman
entertained his friends with orchestral performances of the
best compositions of Handel, Mozart, and Beethoven, given
by the band in a superior style. Moscheles employed the
Brighton evenings usefully in writing some musical canons,
which he sent to Vienna. He had half promised Kiesewet-
ter to make a tour with him in Scotland in the autumn, but
abandoned the idea. He had but little sympathy with Kiese-
wetter's eccentric views and mode of life, so ill adapted
to his weak constitution. On the other hand, Moscheles
gladly joined Lafont (whom he shortly afterwards met at
Boulogne), in giving three brilliant concerts, and afterwards
went to Paris, in order during the quiet time in autumn to
devote all his leisure hours and strength to study and com-
position. In winter these labors were continued, and many
concerts given.

Towards the end of the year, when the London Acade-
my of Music sent him his diploma as honorary member of
the Society, he inserted the following note in his diary :
" I feel more and more at home in England, for people
there evidently wish to show me respect and friendship ; I
feel deeply grateful for this."



CHAPTER VI.
1823.

Visit to Bath — Lady Pupils — Quid pro quo — Oratorio Concerts — Un.
flagging Industry — Musical Engraving — Conductors and Leaders — ■
Artistic Jealousies — English Amateurs — The Charity Children at
St. Paul's — Musical Prodigies — F. Hiller, Schauroth, Malibran —
Sir George Smart — Visit to Germany — An Adventure — Nights in
the Birnbeck-Kneipe — Rehearsals of Weber's Curyantlie at Vien-
na — Visit to Beethoven — Salieri in the Hospital.

MOSCHELES went to England in the middle of
January, and as in the preceding year, he had
moved about between Paris and Versailles Rouen, and
other French towns, so now he changed from London to
Bath, Bristol, etc., for he was in request in the great me-
tropolis as well as in the provinces. Young ladies wished
in a few lessons to acquire some of the qualities which they
admired in Moscheles' playing; of course they could not
learn to improvise in a few finishing lessons, for this pre-
supposed vast musical erudition, besides his inborn talent
of treating a musical subject brilliantly and elaborately.
At all events they thought they might learn the art of his
repeating notes, and the evenness of his running passages.

Anxious to detain him in Bath as long as possible, his
pupils and friends prepared soirees for him in the leading
houses, in addition to the engagements undertaken by man-
agers of concerts. In Bath, he praised specially the hos-
pitality of the Barlow family. " 1 am treated as a son in
their hospitable home ; my room is always ready, and
besides this, Miss Barlow is perhaps the cleverest pupil I
have got." Further on we find remarks on a concerto in
E major, which he began in this house, and worked out
with the greatest diligence.

We also find some comical paragraphs ; among others
he has chronicled a funny "quid pro quo " which occurred
to him as a novice in the English language, at the table of



ORATORIO CONCERTS.



49



the Barlows. " To-day I was asked at dessert which fruit
of those on the table 1 would prefer. * Some sneers,' 1
replied, ingenuousl}'. The company first of all were sur-
prised, and then burst into laughter, when they guessed the
process by which I had arrived at the expression. I who
at that time had to construct my English laboriously oiit of
dialogue books and dictionaries, had found that ' Not to
care a fig,' meant ' To sneer at a person,' so when I wanted
to ask for figs, fig and sneer I thought were synon-
ymous."

Moscheles delights in the view of the Bristol Channel,
and adds : " What can be finer than the first view of the
Welsh mountains from Clifton? an enchanting panorama!
The very place to write an adagio ; the blue mountain
chain forms such a grand background to this bright Chan-
nel ! " He further remarks : " The public Assembly rooms
are the places of rendezvous for the fashionable world, and
the weak and ailing, who use the warm spring for bathing
and drinking, find that comfort which we do not know of
in German watering-places ; the idlers soon meet, and while
away their time pleasantly together. I am assured, too,
that speculative mammas, with their superabundance of
daughters, prefer this place to all others." Afterwards we
find Moscheles back again in London. He tells us: "I
was at a so-called Oratorio Concert ; one part consisted of
sacred, another of secular music. The public may have
found the former part rather longer than they liked, for the
people stormed and .stamped because certain pieces of the
'Donna ddl Lago,' which had been promised in the pro-
gramme, were left out." He was engaged for three of
these concerts, and was satisfied with his success. " The
public," he adds, " may on this occasion have been in good
humor, for not only had the recently omitted numbers from
the ' Donna del Lago ' been dished up, but the entire opera
was given." Again he writes : ''To day there was an Ora-
torio Concert where, among other things, besides a aeal of
secular music, we had the whole of Crotch's Oratorio, ' Pal-
estine.' How, I ask, must nerves be organized which can
endure so much heterogeneous music ? " When Moscheles
afterwards heard the ' Donna del Lago' at the Italian Opera,
he found that the music contained many beauties, but be-

5



50



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



yond all question what he admired most was "the charming
Ronzi de Begnis and her exquisite singing."

Moscheles' industry never flagged, in spite of a rather
serious indisposition which lie brought with him from Bath
to London. He was one of those to whom continuous em-
ployment was a necessity and delight ; when at last the in-
evitable hours of exhaustion came, he was able to meet
them by the most natural means, that of sleep, and after-
wards resumed active work again with renewed powers.

During this time his chief employment was the composi-
tion of the E major concerto ; in addition to this the Scotch
fantasia, the altered concerto in F major, and the Sonata
for four hands were prepared for publication. He says :
" I wrote a Gigue as a contribution for the musical periodi-
cal ' The Harmonicon,' published by Mr. Welsh, owner of
the Argyle Rooms. He asks me to send him anything I
like, and pays five guineas for such a trifle, 1 have twenty
guineas for ' Les Charmes de Paris,' and as much for the
first number of the ' Bonbonniere Musicale \ ' but in i^pite of
this I have a quantity of manuscript unpublished, the mere
pecuniary advantages fail to satisfy me. I want to see real
progress, and nothing positively objectionable in my nev/
productions, otherwise 1 will not publish them."

In leisure hours he made a new arrangement of the Eg-
mont Overture, and used to call such a task his recreation
(" Handarbeit ").

Every one intimately acquainted with Moscheles knew
the accuracy with which he managed the engraving of his
own productions. His engravers received the most precise
instructions, even as to the turning over of the pages : the
head of every single note had to be exactly in its right
place, every rest made perfectly clear and intelligible to the
reader. " All tais," he was accustomed to say, '• adds to
precision in playing, and consequently also to the right
undeistanding of the piece ; if any one affects the great
genius by writing so indistinctly that no engraver can read
it, and if his music is published full of mistakes, that fact
does not make him a Beethoven ; he may do anything, and
then he has his special engraver, who understands how to
read him. Let them all, however, first compose like Beet-
hoven, and then they may write as they please."



COXDUCTORS AND LEADERS.



51



In revisinj^ for the press, Moscheles' correctness and
conscientiousness were probably unique in their way, and
these qualities were not less conspicuous in his lessons.
No wonder he was ill at ease with his pupil Miss H — , who
had lived some sixty summers, and was, like her elder
brother, unmarried. '" Both are dressed strictly in the
fasnion of the days of their youth," he writes, " which gives
to this short-set couple a comical appearance. Her high
head-dress, his nan'<een trousers, blue dress-coat and brass
buttons are enough to convulse one with laughter. As for
the old lady, she does not intend to learn anything, for how
often during the forty-five or fifty minutes which I devote to
her do I urge her on to play, and can scarcely get her to
do it. The good lady is talkative, but at the same time
hospitable ; I am obliged to lunch with her each time, and
while I eat, she talks, until at last I compel her to hazard
her gouty little fingers on a piece of modern music.
When, however, we have not worked actively together, my
conscience does not allow me to pocket the guinea which
she hands me every time, neatly wrapped up in paper.''

Moscheles was very much astonished at the English
custom of placing a famous musician at orchestral concerts
in front of the band, at the piano, and on the occasion of a
1 hilharmonic Concert we find him asking the question,
*-What do they mean by the term 'Conductor,' Mr.
Clementi ? He sits there and turns over the leaves of the
score, but after all he cannot, without his marshal s staff,
the baton, lead on his musical army. The leader does this,
and the conductor remains a nullity. And now fcr the pro-
gramme. The C minor symphony of Beethoven, for the
first time here ; and immediately after this sublime work,
this food for the gods, a variation for the flute, a violin
concerto, and several airs. Besides this Mozart s G minor
symphony, and to conclude, an overture by Romberg — a
programme which 1 write down now, that I may never for-
get it." Altogether there were strange doings in the Phil-
harmonic Society. Kiesewetter wished no longer to play
at their concerts, as he thought 5/. for a performance too
little. Moscheles and Kalkbrenner were asked to play
gratuitously. The former refused from press of business.
Kalkbrenner, who was glad when he could appear at a



52 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS,

Philharmonic Concert, accepted the invitation of the society,
played his D minor concerto in a very finished style, and
received well-merited applause. "■ I cannot recognize their
claims to my gratuitous services, while my art-brethren, on
the contrary, find me always ready to support them." In
turning over the pages of his diary, so as to verify this say-
ing, we find that Moscheles played during this season not
only for his friend T. B. Cramer, and for the harp-player
Dizi, but also for the singers Torri and Sapio, Caradori and
Borgondio, and other less well-known artists.

Altogether the artists seem to have fraternized very
satisfactorily, in spite of petty jealousies and professional
rivalry. However, some painful scenes did occur ; thus, at
a soiree given by Miss B., a pupil of Moscheles, he says:
'' It was an awkward business ! After we had all been
repeatedly heard, Kiesewetter and I played Mayseder's
long sonata. Cramer's exclamation, 'Cela m'ennuie,'
worked like a thunderclap on the easily excited Kiesewet-
ter ; he sprang indignantly from his chair, and we subse-
quently had a deal of trouble and worry to reconcile the
two." *

There were large numbers of English amateurs who
counted it a special honor to associate with artists, and to
play by their side at their private soirees. Thus, Sir W.
Curtis on the violoncello, Mrs. Oom and Mrs. Fleming on
the piano. Prince Leopold, and Princess Sophia, sister to
King George IV., were always attentive listeners to the
performers. Still Moscheles complains, " I am obliged to
perform and endure too much trivial music."

He describes the annual festivity of the meeting of the
6000 charity children for divine service at St. Paul's Cathe-
dral as remarkable and edifying. "The moment when the
whole host of them stand up together is an im.pos'ng one.
But,'' he adds, " how could they all, with the powerful organ
accompaniment to the Psalms, and while singing in unison,
contrive to fall the fourth of a tone, and that also in
unison ! "

Moscheles had abundant opportunities cf forming a
judgm-nt of youthful talent, for fathers and mothers brought
him their budding musical prodigies, the most of whom have
vanished and are long forgotten. Still he often ihrught in



MUSICAL PRODIGIES.



53



later years, with great delight, of the moment when the boy
Ferdinand Hiller first played to him, and he prophesied to
the father the brilliant musical future of his son ; this was
for a long time a delightful recollection to both. Delphine
Schauroth too, when only ten years of age, astonished him,
even in those days, by her brilliant execution and musical
aptitude. But more than all other wonders in the way of
musical children, he was charmed with the youthful, almost
childish actress, Maria Garcia, afterwards Malibran, whom
he saw on an amateur stage in the house of a M. HuUman-
del. He writes : " The charming girl, almost a child, acted
enchantingly in the ' Chauvin de Rheims,' ' Le Coin de
Rue,' and ' L'Ours et le Pacha.' " At the same time he was
delighted with the dramatic singing of her father, who was
one of the greatest tenors of his day.

Moscheles, during his stay in Vienna, had laid the
foundation of an accurate knowledge of the Italian lan-
guage, for which he always had a predilection. In London
he had perfected himself still more, and never failed to
attend the Pistrucci evenings, where he listened with great
delight to the " Improvisatore," as he enlarged, in well-
sounding hirmonious verses, on a chance theme suggested
by the public. " It gives me food for thought in my own
improvisations," he adds. " I must constantly make com-
parisons between the sister arts : they are all closely allied."

The London of 1823 had nothing in the shape of con-
veyances but two -horse hack carriages, and these were as
costly as they were clumsy. Moscheles' delight, when for
the first time he could use a one-horse cab, of lighter build,
is recorded in the diary: "The happy change occurred
exactly in one of my busiest weeks. While preparing for a
concert on the 27t'h of June, I was forced to cross and
recross London. My dear friend. Sir George Smart, has
relieved me of a part of these preparations ; he is alwa3's
ready to accompany, to give rehearsals to singers and so-
loists ; in a word, to spare his friend all sorts of trouble.
That excellent man conducts nearly all the important
musical festivals in London as well as the provinces, with
the greatest care and precision. He is one of those rare
beings who, in spite of all sorts of business, find time to
answer their letters every day they receive theru. He is



54



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



always ready, too, to serve his friends, and many a foreign
singer is indebted to him for a correct pronunciation in
the oratorios of Haydn and Handel, and for such sugges-
tions as enable her to carry out successfully the old tra-
ditions."

Moscheles' stay in England, so prosperous in every-
way, finished with the end of the London season. In
August we find him already on his journey home, starting
first of all for France. The first day in Paris is more
pleasant than the second. " I have left at Schlesinger's a
box full of valuables, which have been stolen, every one of
them — namely, the snuff-box given me by the Duchess de
Berry, a silver coffee-service, twelve spoons, an antique
ring, a Venetian chain, and other articles of value given
to me as souvenirs. We suspect a young friend of Schles-
inger, who saw me pack the things, and often remained
alone in the room where the box stood. AVe are obliged
to act with great delicacy in this matter." The suspicion
was confirmed, but the penitent letter which Moscheles re-
inceived from the young man induced him patiently to wait
hopes of a restitution of his lost property. Later on we shall
meet wit^ a further development of this disagreeable affair.

He staid but ten days in Paris, previous to going to
Spa, where a concert was arranged without any trouble to
himself. The pianoforte question, however, was a difficult
matter. Moscheles did not succeed in obtaining the very
excellent piano belonging to Lady Portland, whose acquaint-
ance he had made at a ball. "She disappoints me ex-
tremely," he writes, "declaring that I should damage her
instrument. I, who am so aveise to all thumping. She
actually told a friend of hers present at the ball that 1
played with my feet ! "

Some confusion may have arisen in the lady's mind
from her having heard of one of Moscheles' favorite jokes
— he would play with his fists, improvise pieces, introduc-
ing passages for thirds in which he would contrive to strike
the under note with the closed thumb, retaining all the
while the softness of his touch. Lady Portland's piano not
forthcoming, a Mrs. Bayham lent him a Broadwood, which
although it had seen its best days, did not prejudice hi«;
.s^uccess.



VISIT TO GERMANY.



55



We next find him at Aix-la-Chapelle. Here J. A.
Mayer, the publisher, formerly a mere acquaintance of his,
was of great assistance. This gentleman, as well as the
entire family, became his life-long friends, and thus the
lightly knit tie of a passing acquaintance became a lasting
link in the chain of Moscheles' friendship.

Moscheles had a peculiar and very marked propensity,
which he retained to his latest years, for attending courts
of law, and watching the progress of trials. Thus we find
him, even at Aix, in the midst of a cheerful artistic life,
rushing off to the court, and diligently listening to the
criminal proceedings in the case of the murderers Joseph
Pakhard and Josephine Herzoginrath. "His indifference
shocked me," he writes. " Her sobs were heart-rending."
We often come across similar notes on public trials.

At the beginning of September Moscheles returned to
Germany. At first we find him in Frankfort, from whence
he hurries off to Hofrath Andre, in Offenbach, in order to
revel in Mozart manuscripts. He says, " I immediately
took a note for myself of the two bars, which Mozart
struck out of his overture to the ^Zauberflote' as super-
fluous.



E^ES



(^^ \ m »**i



ffili



r#^#




What could I, who worship every note of Mozart's, who
consider him the greatest musical genius, say, when Hof-
rath Andre maintained that Mozart did not thoroughly
understand declamation, since words which bear the con-
trary sense to that of his opera texts, might just as well be
placed under his music, and be as suitable as the original
words. This accusation seemed to me not worthy of



56



RECENT MUSrC AND MUSICIANS.



defence. I remained silent. I was intensely interested
in a sight of the half-finished scene of the opera ' 1 /Oca
del Cairo.' The last numbers of this buried treasure
are unfortunately only noted for the voice and bass !
Who would like to end where Mozart has begun? I saw,
too, an outburst of his waggish humor in a Concerto which
he had written for the horn-player Leitgeb, with the fol-
lowing inscription, ' W. A. Mozart has taken pity on the
poor Leitgeb, the ass, the ox, etc., and written for him a
horn-concerto. ' "

At that time Moscheles heard a new arrangement of
the libretto to the opera, " Cosi fan tutte," which was
given with Mozart's music unaltered, under the name of the
" Fairy Mirror." This music delighted him. He heard
Mozart's Requiem given by the Cicilien-Verein, in the Ca-
thedral, under Schelble's able direction. Here, too, he rev-
elled in the choicest fragments of Handelian music. It
gave Moscheles great delight to meet the esteemed contra-
puntist, Vollweiler, as well as Aloys Schmitt, and to become
acquainted with Wilhelm Speier, so well known for his
Rheinlied. " T/iat stamp of amateur I like," he said, " as
well as an artist."

Deeply engrossed in all kinds of professional pursuits,
Moscheles was still mindtlil of the welfare of his brother
artists. B^-hm aud Pixis were making a tour, and had just
arrived in Frankfort. " Friend Mayer," said Moscheles,
*' shall get up a good concert for them in Aix." So he wrote
to him, and urgendy recommended them.

After his concert in Frankfort was over, Spontini's
*' Olympia " w.is just announced in Darmstadt; Moscheles,
Pixis, end Bohm drove over to hear it, and they met with a
strange adventure. ''The wheel of our carriage was three
times lost, and as there was nothing else to drive but a com-
mon cart, and we would not miss the opera at any price, we
mounted this elegant vehicle, and made our solemn entry
into Darmstadt at the same time with many princely and
other carriages, with the inmates of which we were well ac-
quainted. At this first hearing of ' Olympia ' I found much
that was grand and indicative of genius, without concealing
from myself the weakness of many passages. Zelter, who
delighted in opposing every modern ' eccentricity,' as



BIRNBECK KNEIPE.



57



he called most of the innovations, declared that he could
hear plenty of such noisy music outside the opera-house
without going into it."

In Munich Moscheles was kindly received by the Kaula
family, and delighted in meeting his brother artists in the
'* Birnbeck Kneipe," for beer and musical discussion. There
was Winter, the composer of " Das Unterbrochene Opferfest,"
Molique, Andreas Romberg, Bohrer, Krebs, and others.

In consequence of the arrival of the Prince of Prussia,
who was recently betrothed to a Bavarian princess, Mos-
cheles was summoned to Nymphenburg to play before the
royal party, and thoroughly enjoyed the kind reception given
him by the "good King Max." He asked him, "How old
aieyou?" "Thirty, your Majesty." "Double that num-
ber, and add seven to it, and you will have my age," said
the king quickly. The Crown-Prince of Prussia, who joined
in the conversation, invited Moscheles to Berlin, and the
king made him promise to play again before the Court on
the 4th of October. He did play on that evening, and had
the satisfaction of seeing the royal party at his own concert
on the loth.

The vintage f>!tes, which were celebrated in the presence
of the Court, were a delightful recreation to Moscheles.
There is, however, a complaining tone observable in some
of his descriptions of the scenes he witnessed ; he felt ill
and unable to thoroughly enjoy that which was so delight-
ful to thousands on the meadows and hills around. After
attending a performance of his music to the ballet " Die
Portraits," which the ballet-master Horschelt ordered to be
given in his honor, he then became worse, and hurried back
to dear old Vienna, in search of proper medical treatment.
Vivanot, Malfatti, and Smethana did everything that friend-
ship and their art could do. His brother came from Prague
to nurse him, but in spite of their combined care, three
gloomy weeks passed before he was out of danger. Then
tollowed a period of prostration, which cramped his vital
energy and spirits almost more than the illness itself. For
a long time he was much depressed ; he found some conso-
lation in his Shakespeare, but seldom touched the piano \
even the visits of sympathizing friends failed to rouse him
frcm his apathy. The offer made him by Barbaja, the les-



58 I^ECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

see of the Kiirntnerthor Theatre, to give as many concerts
as he liked and share half the profits, remained unheeded.
At this period, C. M. von Weber came to Vienna, for the
purpose of bringing out his " Euryanthe ;" already after the
rehearsals the most dissentient voices of the German and
Italian factions were heard, warning notes were given of a
serious battle at the first performance — nay, some ill-dis-
posed persons had presumed to rechristen " Euryanthe "
by the name of " Ennuyante." Moscheles would not on
any account miss the first performance, in order to raise his
voice for the German master, and against " the shallow
Italian jingle," as he called it. Thus his melancholy was
overcome. " The opera is not suited for uninitiated ears,"
said he, after he had heard it : " it is too bold in rhythm
and harmony ; the text so terribly far-fetched that the music
must to some extent, be of the same kind ; it has, however,
very many beauties, and the airs 'Glocklein im Thale ' and
' Unter BKihenden MandelbaLimen,' but before all, the
finale of the first act, must insure the success of the opera,
even with the pit and galleries." The cast was faultless.
The charming, youthful Sontag, the excellent tenor singer
Haitzinger, the admirable Madame Granbaum, and the
equally good Forti, represented the leading characters.
At the subsequent representations, when the house would
no longer fill, the Italian faction begun to triumph. Mos-
cheles writes : " Ludlam (the healthy art-fraternity whose
acquaintance we have already made) succeeded in infusing
the orthodox German spirit into the press." Besides this,
the society was anxious to honor Weber, and gave him a
festive evening after the first representation of " Euryan-
the." Among those present were Castelli, Jeitteles, Gyro-
wetz, BAuerle, Benedict, Grillparzer, and many others.
Poems, written for the occasion, extolling Weber's genius,
were recited, and the most jovial Ludlamslieder sung.

The success of the first concert which Moscheles gave
after his return to Vienna raised his spirits once more to
the old level, although he was not free from bodily suffer-
ing. Having to return some visits, he began with Beet-
hoven, accompanied by his brother, who was burning with
anxiety to see the great man. " Arrived at the house-
door," says Moscheles, "I had some misgivings, knowing



SALTER I IN THE HOSPITA.



59



B'^ethoven's dislike to strangers, and asked my brother to
wait below while I felt my way. After short greetings, I
asked Baethoven, ^ May i be allowed to introduce my
brother to you ? ' He replied, hurriedly, ' Where is he then 'r '
* Below,' was the answer. ' What ! below ? ' said he, with
some vehemence ; then rushed down stairs, seized my
astonished brother by his arm, and dragged him up into
the middle of his room, exclaiming, * Am I so barbarously
rude and unapproachable ? ' He then showed great kind-
ness to the stranger. Unfortunately, on account of his
deafness, we could only converse by writing."

Moscheles wished also to visit poor Salieri, who, weak,
old, and nigh to death, was lying in the common hospital.
For this purpose he obtained the necessary permission of
his unmarried daughter and the regular authorities, as
hardly any one could be admitted to see him ; he was not
fond of visits, and mide only a few special exceptions.
" Our meeting," writes Moscheles, " was a sorrovvf.il one ;
for already his appearance shocked me, and he spoke to me
in broken sentences of his nearly impending death. At
last he said, ' I can assure you as a man of honor that there
is no truth in the absurd report ; of course you know — •
Mozart — I am said to have poisoned him ; but no — malice,
sheer malice ; tell the world, dear Moscheles, old Salieri,
who is on his death-bed, has told this to you.' I was deep-
ly moved, and when the old man in tears repeated his
thanks for my visit (having already overwhelmed me with
gratitude on my arrival), it was time for me to rush out of
the room before I was entirely overcome with emotion.
With regard to the report hinted at by the dying man, it
certainly had been circulated, without my ever giving it
the slightest belief Morally speaking he had no doubt
by his intrigues poisoned many an hour of Mozart's exist-
ence."

After Moscheles had made a round of visits to the artists,
he went off to the pianoforte-makers, whose progress he al-
ways diligently watched, and found that Graf and Leschni
had considerably improved the quality of their instruments.

In November and December, Moscheles gave a second
and third concert in the Karntnerthor Theatre, and for the
last occasion Beethoven lent him with the greatest readiness



6o K EC EXT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

his Broadwood piano. Moscheles wished, by using alter-
nately at one and the same concert a Graf and an English
piano, to bring out the good qualities of both. Beethoven
was not exactly the player to treat a piano carefully ; his
unfortunate deafness was the cause of his pitiless thumping
on the instrument, so that Graf — foreseeing the favorable
issue of this contest to himself — generously labored to put
the damaged English instrument into better condition for
this occasion. " I tried," says Moscheles, " in my Fantasia
to show the value of the broad, full, although somewhat
muffled tone of the Broadwood piano ; but in vain. My
Vienna public remained loyal to their countr3'man — the
clear, ringing tones of the Graf were more pleasing to their
ears. Before I left the room I was obliged to yield to the
urgent request of several of my hearers, in promising to re-
peat the whole concert the day after to-morrow." This
promise was fulfilled.

He persistently refused the pressing invitations he re-
ceived to give a concert in the Theatre an der Wien ; he
was still suffering pain, and wanted to get away from Vienna.
However, he took part in a concert for the benefit of the
poor, and supported his friend Mayseder on the evening of
his benefiit, when he played the E flat concerto.

In gratitude for the merry evenings which he had spent
among the Ludlamites, Moscheles composed for them, in
the midst of his preparations for departure, a jovial chorus j
the society upon this elevated him to the rank of Ludlam's
"Kapellmeister." At the same time the smaller but very
vigorous " Schlaraffen-Verein " (Idler's Club) conferred
on him honorary membership. " Thus," he says, " the
close of the year found me in high spirits, but invested with
the night-cap, and all the other insignia of idleness. Better
thus to end the year than to begin the new one."



CHAPTER VII.

1824.

Prague — Inauguration of the Redoutensaal — Reception by the Emperor
— Series of Concerts — Respect for his Old Master — Dresden —
Artistic Society — Tieck — C. M. von Weber — Performance before
the Court — Leipzig — Distinguished Critics and Artists — Berlin —
Relations to the Mendelssohn Family — Frau Varnhagen von Ense
(Rahel) — Felix Mendelssohn — Zelter — Potsdam — Magdeburg.

ON the ist of January, Moscheles writes in his diary : " T
could not express to my dear friends and patrons, at
my parting visits, my sense ofobb'gation to them for all their
kindness ; but I am very sensible of all that they have done
for me. Ludlam, with its jokes, was hardly in tune with my
present state of feeling, but I was of course obliged to ap-
pear at the parting banquet which they gave me." No
sooner had he arrived at Prague than he became danger-
ously ill, and was laid up for four months in his mother's
house. He was therefore obliged to forfeit his engagements
in England for the winter and spring. The newspapers
actually announced his death, but severe as the crisis was
through which he passed, he was mercifully spared to his
family and friends. On this occasion, too, it is music which
completes his cure. From January to April he had diverted
himself solely with reading (chiefly the works of Goethe),
and very seldom touched the piano. In the month of May
he was asked whether he would inaugurate with his consert
the Redoutensaal, in the presence of their Majesties, who had
just arrived at Prague. " So I am about," he says, " to cel-
ebrate my recovery, not only with heartfelt gratitude to God
and my friends, but also by a brilliant concert." The Oberst-
burggraf, the Stadthauptmann, and the members of the mu-
sical committee arranged everything ; a new royal box was
erected, the house was brilliantly illuminated, chorus and
band strengthened.

On the 29th of May,Moscheles writes in his diary: " My



62 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

mother's joy at my success yesterday compensates for all the
sadness of the winter." On the 2d of June he was received
at a private audience by the Emperor, and greeted with
these words : "You pleased me when you were merely a boy,
and since that time it always gives me pleasure to hear you."
In addition to his kind patronage, an unusually handsome
present from the Emperor had greatly contributed to the pe-
cuniary success of the concert, which was followed by another
at the " Stiindischen Theatre," and afterwards he had the
pleasure of being present at the signing of his sister Fanny's
marriage contract, and was able to provide handsomely for
her.

On the nth of June his brother travelled with him to
Carlsbad, where he was to take the w^aters, but the public
insisted on hearing him ; he was obhged to give a concert, and
at the special wish of the Duke of Cumberland, repeated it
a few evenings later. Similar successes were awaiting him
at Marienbad, Franzensbad, and Teplitz, and at all these
places he gave concerts for the poor and assisted his artistic
friends in their own undertakings. Of course, in each of
the watering-places there was a concourse of artists, and
Moscheles was specially delighted at his meeting with Carl
Maria von Weber. He rejoices that in going to Dresden
he can spare a fortnight for Prague, where he again plays to
old master Dionys Weber, and listens with affectionate rev-
erence to his remarks on his own compositions. He always
maintained before him the character of a pupil, however
much Dionys Weber wished to honor the master in him.
"One thing strikes me as remarkable," he says, "how the
good man, who first of all regarded Beethoven as half-mad
and warned me against him, is obliged by degrees to change
his mind ; but he does this cautiously, for there are still many
things which he will not approve of, and I am forced to
moderate my enthusiasm considerably in order not to annoy
him.'' These words show a sense of reverence and honor
that needs no comment.

We now follow Moscheles to Dresden, where he found
Carl Maria von Weber and Morlacchi, acting as Hofkapell-
meisters, RoUa first violin in the admirable Court band,
Herr v. Liittichau " Intendant " of the Royal Theatre. We
read of Moscheles enjoying the beautiful music in the Cath-



DRESDEN.



63



olic Church, the brilliant singers Sassaroli, Tibaldi, etc.
He speaks of Tieck, who delighted him with his reading
of " Clavigo," of August Klengel, whose canon studies
Moscheles prized as masterpieces, and with whom he spent
many an enjoyable evening. Weber and his amiable 'vife
invited him to their house at Hosterwitz (near Dresden).
There, too, was Friedrich Kind, librettist of the " Frey-
schcltz,'' and Webers intention of accepting an invitation
to England was earnestly discussed. " Of course," says
Moscheles, '' 1 can give him information and practical hints
on measures necessary for his scheme. But I am sorry to
see him in a state of debility and suffering, and dread the
exertions which London will cost him." Unfortunately,
these fears were destined to be realized, as we shall after-
wards see in the year 1826.

Moscheles had to play again in Pilnitz before the Royal
family, and again his performance was to be during the din-
ner hour. The redeeming feature was a jovial dinner
among the artists after the performance was over, and they
were much amused at receiving, in accordance with ancient
custom, a thaler each for gloves, besides such valuables as
the gold snuff-box with which Moscheles was presented.
"The thaler," he writes, '^goes'well with the Vandalism of
playing to royal folk at their dinner."

On the 8th of October, Moscheles and his brother went-
to Leipzig. Here let us briefly anticipate that important
period of Moscheles' life which was spent in that city.
Many years were to elapse before Moscheles, at the instiga-
tion of his friend Mendelssohn, was induced to migrate to
Leipzig, where he was destined to remain and labor in the
cause of art to the end of his days. It was in 1846 that
Mendelssohn founded the Conservatorio of Music in Leipzig,
and wished the pupils of that Institute to enjoy the benefit
of his friend's experience. Alas ! their joint efforts were to
last but one short j^ear. After Mendelssohn's death, Mos-
cheles accepted as a sacred trust the duty of further devel-
oping that great Institute that owed its foundation to his
departed friend.

But to return to the year 1824, and to the influence that
Leipzig at that time exercised on his artistic creed. While
retaining his bravura style of playing, he aspired with ever-



64 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

increasing earnestness to the highest aims of musicianship;
and sought to appear with the calm and self-possession of
thorough mastery before judges whose criticisms he re-
spected, and an audience whom he considered well versed
in art matters.

Referring to the diary of those days, we find Moscheles
at the "Birnbaum " (now called the Hotel de Pologne), and
visiting the whole musical fraternity. Kapellmeister Wein-
lich, Schulz, the violin-player, Matthiii, Mademoiselle Vel-
theim, the singer — all these are favorably mentioned, and
he delights in accompanying Madame Weitte, an excellent
artiste. The following is an interesting notice added in
after-years: "I must have seen the little Clara, afterwards
the famous Clara Schumann at her father's, Mr. Wieck, and
little did I think then what intense pleasure she would give
me in after-years, and how her execution of my own G minor
concerto in the Gewandhaus would delight me. No better
reading and execution of the work can be heard ; I could
not myself play it more to my own satisfaction. It is just
as if she had composed it herself" Later on we read in
the diary : " I have done business in that famous commer-
cial city of Leipzig. Probst bought my Op. 62 and 63 for
35 ducats, and I had 40 from Mechetti for my G minor con-
certo. Others, too, meet me in a very friendly way, and
help me in making my concert arrangements. They intro-
duced me to the Liedertafel, whose performances are excel-
lent. There I met the famous critic Rochlitz, the admirable
actors Devrient and Genast, etc. Bernhard Romberg, who
had just come to Leipzig, agreed with me in saying that it
is delightful to play before such judges." Moscheles took
delight in the theatre, then under the direction of Hofrath
Kiistner, where he saw works by Shakespeare and Schiller
acted to perfection. With regard to his own concert, he
says : " It is remarkable that I gave it on the i8th of Oc-
tober. It appears that I, too, have won my battle ; for even
in the room the directors pressed me to give a second con-
cert. I have not, however, made up my mind to this." He
did so the next morning, when urged by the local paper to
grant the directors' request. The times in which artists
were pressed to give concerts are among the things of the
past. Friedrich Schneider, the compcser of an oratorio,



RELA TIONS TO THE MENDELSSOHN TAMIL V. 6$

" Paradise Lost," showed him this new work when he visited
Dessau to perform before the Court.

On the 31st of October, Moscheles and his brother
arrived at Berlin. His notes on his stay here are more
cursory than usual. He seems to consider all else unim-
portant as compared with his relations to the family of
Mendelssohn. It is incidentally mentioned that he gave
three brilliant concerts for the sufferers from inundation,
for the blind, and for other charitable institutions, also that
he played for some personal friends. We read, too, that
the haute finance^ the poets, the statesmen, were glad to
welcome him. Spontini's operas, with their brilliant
scenery and pageantry, the admirable singers Bader, Blum,
Frau Milder-Hauptmann, and Frau Seidler-Wranitzky, even
the charming actress Fraulein Bauer, are merely alluded to,
and the great political event, the marriage of the King with
the Princess Liegnitz is referred to in a few passing words.
He writes, however, whole pages about Felix Mendelssohn's
home and his family. We quote his impressions after a
first visit : " This is a family the like of which I have never
known. Felix, a boy of fifteen, is a phenomenon. What
are all prodigies as compared with him .? Gifted children,
but nothing else. This Felix Mendelssohn is already a
mature artist, and yet but fifteen years old ! We at once
settled down together for several hours, for I was obliged to
play a great deal, when really I wanted to hear him and see
his comoositions, for Felix had to show me a Concerto in C
minor, a double Concerto, and several motets ; and all so
full of genius, and at the same time so correct and thor-
ough ! His elder sister Fanny, also extraordinarily gifted,
played by heart, and with admirable precision. Fugues and
Passacailles by Bach. I think one may well call her a
thorough 'Mus. Doc' (guter Musiker). Both parents
give one the impression of being people of the highest
refinement. They are far from overrating their children's
talents ; in fact, they are anxious about Felix's future, and
to know whether his gift will prove sufficient to lead to a
noble and truly great career. Will he not, like so many
other brilliant children, suddenly collapse ? I asserted my
conscientious conviction that Felix would ultimately become
a great master, that I had not the slightest doubt of his



66 RECENT MUSIC A AW MUSICIANS.

genius ; but again and again I had to insist on my opinion
before tiiey believed me. Tiiese two are not specimens of
the genus prodigy-parents (Wunderkinds-Eltern), such as I
must frequently endure."

The pleasure, however, was mutual, and the oftener
Moscheles came to dine and spend the evening at their
house, the heartier was the reception he met with. The
Mendelssohns had frequently begged him to give Felix
some lessons, but these requests he had with characteristic
modesty always answered evasively. He writes in the
diary : '"Felix has no need of lessons ; if he wishes to take
a hint as to anything that is new to him, from hearing me
play, he can easily do so." Madame Mendelssohn wrote
to him on the i8th of November, 1824 : " Have you kindly
thought over our request about the lessons ? You would
extremely oblige us by consenting, if such a thing can be
done without disturbing your plans during your stay in this
place. Don't set down these repeated inquiries as inoppor-
tune, but attribute them entirely to the wish that my child
should be enabled to profit by the presence of the prince
of pianists." Even after this. Moscheles seems not to have
made up his mind to say " Yes," but merely to have spoken
of "playing occasionally," for on the 22d of November, we
find again the following note : "If l may be allowed, dear
Mr. Moscheles, to renew my request that you will give
lessons to my two eldest children, be good enough to let
me know your terms. I should like them to begin at once,
that they may profit as far as possible during tlie time of
your stay here." This note Moscheles must have answered
in the affirmative, for on the 22d of November, he writes in
his diary : " This afternoon, from two to three o'clock, I
gave Felix Mendelssohn his first lesson, without losing
sight for a single moment of the fact that I was silting next
to a master, not a pupil. I feel proud that after so short
an acquaintance with me his distinguished parents entrust
me with their son, and congratulate myself on being per-
mitted to give him some hints, which he seizes on and
works out with that genius peculiar to himself." Six days
later he says: " Felix Mendelssohn's lessons are repeated
every second day ; to me they are subjects of ever-increas-
ing interest ; he has already played with me my Allegri di



FELIX MENDELSSOHN. ^yj

Bravura, my concertos, and other things, and how played !
The shghtest hint from me, and he guesses at my concep-
tion."

From this time dates MoscheJes' close intimacy with the
family. He delighted in the intellectual atmosphere of the
house : and would listen with interest to the conversation
of Felix's father, " with his sound views on art-subjects ; "
he attended many of their morning or evening musical
entertainments, and scrupulously catalogued the pro-
grammes. "On the 23d November," he writes, "I heard
a Psalm by Naumann, at the Singakademie, afterwards went
to the Mendelssohns'. The brother and sister played Bach."

'• Nov. 25th. — With the family of Mendelssohn-Bar-
tholdy at the brother's house"

"Nov. 28th (Sunday). — Music in the morning at the
Mendelssohns'. C minor quartet by Felix. D major
Symphony, concerto by Bach, duet in D minor for two
pianos by Arnold.

" Nov. 30th. — At Frau Varnhagen's with Felix. Ex-
ceedingly interesting."

Frau Varnhagen was the famous Rahel, of whose ami-
ability and masculine understanding so much has been said
and written. Her receptions were the rallying point for
artists, srholars, and statesmen, for every one of whom she
had a suitable word or a willing ear, and all this was done
with perfect simplicity, while her good nature always
prompted her to draw out the least gifted of her acquaint-
ance. She loved music, so that a genius like Felix Men-
delssohn was a heartfelt delight to her, and she invariably
showed her warm appreciation of Moscheles.

" Dec. 3d, 12 o'clock. — Music at Zelter's. Fanny Men-
delssohn played the D minor Concerto by S. Bach, which I
saw in the original manuscript. A mass in five parts by S.
Bach was performed.

" Dec. 5th. — At Geheimrath Crelle's Felix accompanied
Mozart's Requiem, in commemoration of the day of his
death : Zelter and others were present.

"Dec. nth. — A birthday festival at Mendelssohns' at
which we were treated to some charming private theatricals.
Felix distinguished himself as an actor quite as much as
Edward Devrient.



6S RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

" Dec. i2th (Sunday). — Music at Mendelssohns'. Felix
F minor Quartet. I played with him my duet in G for two
pianofortes. Young Schilling played Hummel's Trio in
G."

Zelter, the well-known teacher of Felix and his sister,
never failed to attend these morning performances. Al-
though in his outward manner rather harsh and forbidding,
he was not a little proud of his pupils. He invited Mos-
cheles to a friendly supper, upon which his guest observes :
*' My musical conversations with Zelter were extremely in-
teresting to me. He is the man who corresponded so much
with Goethe on Teltower Riibchen and other better
things."

"December 13th. — Returned to Felix his album, in
which I yesterday wrote the Impromptu op. 77. He played
it admirably at sight."

Allegro _^ ^ .^ ♦



Stefe§si^?si^^s^



On the 15th of December Moscheles reluctantly departed
from Berlin, and the Mendelssohn family, to which he had
become so closely attached. He and his brother travelled
with Fniulein Bauer and her mother to Potsdam, where he
played, according to promise, at Blum's evening concert in
presence of the Court.

17th of December was a melancholy day. Moscheles
and his brother had to separate. The latter was bound for
Prague ; Moscheles went by coach to Magdeburg. " That
kind brother of mine," he exclaims, " he has spoiled me by
his devotion."

By desire of the Governor, General Haack, the concert
in Magdeburg, on the 20th of December had to be repeat-
ed on the 23d of the same month. After paying a flying
visit to Brunswick, Moscheles spent the last day of ' the
year at Hanover, in quiet retirement.



CHAPTER VIII.

1825.

Hanover — The Duke of Cambridge — Hamburg — Marriage to Charlotte
Embden — Paris — Intercourse with Distinguished Men — Reception
in London — Mori's Monster Concerts — Sebastian Erard's Inven-
tion — Advantage of numbering Concert Tickets — Habits of
Study — Sir Michael Costa — Sundays with the dementis — The
Collards — Holiday Excursions and Concerts — A Liverpool Re-
hearsal — The Christmas Waits.

THE Duke of Cambrivlge, a great lover of music, was
at this time Regent of Hanover, and his name, with
those of the Platens, Kielmansegges, and others, appeared
in the list of patrons to Moscheles' two successful concerts.

Moscheles next played at Celle, and on the i6th of Janu-
ary reached Hamburg. The diary records the names of
Clasing, Grund, Lindenau, Rudersdorf, Lehmann, and the
little Louise David (afterwards Madame Dulcken), who, in
spite of her tender years, played the ' Alexander Variations '
admirably.

Among the great crowd of listeners in the Apollosaal at
Hamburg was Charlotte Embden, Moscheles' future wife.
A fair pianist herself, she was enchanted with Moscheles'
wonderful playing ; a short acquaintance led to an engage-
ment, and on the first of March they were married. The
day is thus marked in the husband's diary : " My ' Ehren-
tag' (day of honor). With the fullest sense of happiness,
with purity of heart and intention, and full of gratitude to
the Almighty, I entered this holy state, and pray God to
bless me." We omit all the glowing passages confided to
the diary by the happy bridegroom during the honeymoon.
Suffice it to say that they bear witness to the love and
esteem which were to lay the foundation of long years of
happiness.

Moscheles gave concerts at Hamburg, Lilneburg, and
Altona, for his own benefit, or for his friends, and on behalf



70



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



of charitable institutions. The young couple went to Bre-
men and Aix la-Chapelle, on their way to Paris, and there,
at the houses of their relatives, met the painter G-'rard,
Benjamin Constant, Alexander Humboldt, Meyerbeer, and
his brother Michael, Hummel, F. Mendelssohn and his
father, and other men of note.

Moscheles writes to his father-in-law: " Charlotte has
given me to-day an album, in which all the artists here
assembled have written their autographs."*

On the 28th of March, Moscheles completed a contract
with the Academie Royale de Musique, by which he engaged
to play at the last " Concert Spirituel," in return for which
he was promised the use of the Salle des Italiens, when he
should next visit Paris. On the present occasion he found
no time for availing himself of this privilege, but travelled
rapidly to London, where he had been long expected.

On the 2d of May, 1825, Moscheles and his wife ar
rived in London, where he was immediately offered engage-
ments, as also at Bath, Bristol, and other places. His
pupils, too, rally round him. " My wife," he writes, " re-
ceived a most cordial welcome, and friends vie with each
other in showing her kindness. Can this be the insular
formality which makes foreigners cry down the English as
unsociable? "

In May the Philharmonic Society and the Royal Acade-
my had their first meetings, and at the end of the month
Mori gave one of his famous "monster concerts," in which
Moscheles had to take a part. Mori, a clever violin-play-
er, as well as a publisher of music, was frequently leader at
the great provincial festivals, and also the originator of the
" monster concerts." These were notoriously overcrowded.
Angry remarks appeared in the newspapers, but inasmuch
as the leading artists were always engaged by Mori, such
complaints had little effect.

On the ist of June we find this interesting note : " Pierre
Erard showed and explained to me on a dumb keyboard
his uncJe Sebastian's now completed invention, for which

* This all)um was, for the space of forty-five years, enriched at
every opportunity by contributions from the numerous celebrities, musi-
C1I, literary, and otherwise, with whom Moscheles was brought in con-
tact. It is now in the possession of his son Felix.



NUMBERING CONCERT TICKETS.



71



the firm has just taken out a patent. I saw the earliest
experiment of this invention in Paris. It consists in the
key, when only sunk halfway, again rising and repeating
the note. I was the first to play upon one of the newly
completed instruments, and found it of priceless value for
the repetition of notes. In the matter of fullness and soft-
ness of tone, there is something yet to be desired, and I
had a long conversation on the subject with Erard."

His appearance at the Philharmonic, and his own benefit,
are described in glowing colors by Mrs. Moscheles in her
letters to her friends. From these we select one, which
represents her as a novice in the mysteries of concert
arrangements. *' It is my business to see that the tickets are
numbered. At first this seemed to me rather gratuitous
trouble, but I was soon enlightened on the point. A hand-
somely dressed lady who came to me, asked for three
tickets at half a guinea each, and pocketed them. Instead
of paying, however, she said her husband was a doctor, and
presented his card there and then, adding that he never
knew beforehand whether he should be able to go to the
concert or not. On the day after she would send back
either the tickets or the money. I, as a novice, agreed to
it ; but my husband, when he came home, laughed, and
declared I had allowed myself to be taken in. He went to
the doctor in question. The doctor laughed also. ' It is
certainly my card,' said he, ' but any one of my numerous
patients may have taken it away from my table here, nor
am I so fortunate as to possess a wife ! ' Thus Moscheles
was right. I had been taken in. Then he wrote down in
large figures the respective numbers, and gave them to the
ticket-collector. Sure enough three ladies arrived who
asked admittance, and showed the tickets in question.
They were stopped, and told that they must pay or they
would not be admitted. They protested they had no
money with them — they would pay next morning. The
ticket collector called to Moscheles, and the ladies de-
camped. Moral — it is a useful plan to put numbers on the
concert tickets."

The season drawing to a close, Moscheles oegan to
breathe freely, and as his pupils were leaving London, he
had more time for the composition of his " Studies," which



72



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



in spite of all his professional avocations were constantly
uppermost in his mind. On his walk from the house of
one pupil to another, he used to dot down the subjects on
any letter or other scrap of paper he happened to have in
his pocket. In the evening these subjects were worked
out, and all fatigue and sense of ennui forgotten. His
wife would try over certain passages, and practice them on
the next day during his absence from home. His latest
hours of an evening were devoted to rising artists, among
whom was the youthful and now famous Sir Michael Costa,
who showed him his Canzonettes. In those days Mos-
cheles already practiced in a small way that hospitality
which, carried on more extensively in later years, was of
such comfort to many a homeless German in London.

The Moscheles' passed their Sundays with the de-
mentis, at Elstree, near London. " Clementi," says Mos-
cheles, " is one of the most vigorous old fellows of seventy
that I ever saw. In the early morning we watch him from
our window running about the garden bareheaded, reckless
of the morning dew. He is too lively ever to think of
rest. At table he laughs and talks incessantly. He has a
sharp temper, too, which we set down to the hot blood of
his Italian nature. He plays on the piano now but rarely,
and gives out that he has a stitf hand, the result of falling
out of a sledge when he was in Russia, but there is a sus-
picion that his unwillingness is caused by his inability to
follow the great progress the Bravura style has made since
his time. His wife, an amiable Englishwoman, is a great
contrast to him." Clementi at that time was joint owner
with the Collard brothers of a flourishing pianoforte firm.
Moscheles, contrasting their pianos of those days with
those of Broadwood, praised their lightness of touch, and
consequently used them by preference when he played in
public. Their tone, too, he found clearer, while the Broad-
wood, with a somewhat muffled tone and heavy ac.ion
produced a fuller sound. Moscheles called William Col-
lard, the younger brother, " one of the most intelligent
men he ever came across," and he soon became the most
intimate friend and adviser of the young couple. Collard
was a regular visitor at Elstree, and when the friends met,
Clementi would say, " Moscheles, play me something ! "



HOLT DA Y EXCURSION'S AND CONCERTS.



73



and the latter would choose one of his host's Sonatas, while
Clementi, listening with a complacent smile, his hands
behind his back, his short, thick-set figure swinging to and
fro, would call out at intervals, ''Bravo." When the last
note was over, he would tap Moscheles in a friendly way
upon the shoulder, and warmly congratulate him on his
performance.

At last, after the season had been struggled through,
the Moscheles could get away from London for a quiet holi-
day, and accepted an invitation from Mr. Fleming, of
Stoneham Park, Southampton. The lady of the house was
a pupil of Moscheles, and both she and her husband were
for many years his and his wife's intimate friends.

'• The house is full of company, including Lord Palmer-
ston and some of his relatives. It is of course interesting
to meet such men, and follow the Parliamentary discussion
carried on at table. The principles they advocate are
those of purest Toryism. It is fortunate that the art I
represent stands upon neutral ground. At midnight, when
we are in the drawing-room, my art is again in the ascend-
ant ; then we have music until one or two o'clock. No
wonder that the first beams of morning find us sleeping."

In the next month the Moscheles went to Cheltenham
for the waters. " Here," he says, " we enjoy our tcte-a-tOte
to our heart's content ; the chateau was beautiful, but the
retired life, the first since our marriage, is far more to our
taste." And again : "I not only give my wife pianoforte
lessons, but I teach her how to copy music ; and while she
is practicing that art, I compose an Impromptu, for which
I have a commission from the Harmonic Institution. It is
to be on the march from 'Tarare,' or ' Axur,' by Salieri,
which opera, concocted for the English market, is now
greatly applauded in London. This march has been met-
amorphosed by Mr. W. Hawes into a war-song, and awak-
ens the greatest enthusiasm when sung by Braham. He
makes a great point with the passage —

" ' Revenge ! ' he cries,
And the traitor dies,"

At Cheltenham, Moscheles wrote to order three Rondos
4



74



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



on " Die Wiener in Berlin," besides "La Petite Babillarde,"
for Cramer, his B minor " Study," etc. etc.

From Cheltenham they made some pleasant excursions
to Oxford and elsewhere, and then settled down at No. 77,
Norton Street, London. They always regarded as the most
valuable addition to their household gods a splendid piano,
presented to them by Clementi, and on which was inscribed
with his own hand, in front of the keyboard, the dedication :
" Muzio Clementi e Socj all' ingegnosissimo J. Moscheles,
ed alia sua amabilissima consorte.''

The quiet domestic happiness was soon interrupted by
professional business. Moscheles was invited to give con-
certs in Liverpool and Dublin. These offers he would have
declined, as he disliked travelling alone, but at last his
wife's argument prevailed, and he writes on the 4th of No-
vember, " To-day I had to endure the hard trial of parting
from my wife." On reaching Liverpool, and being taken
by his friends to see the Town Hall, and Nelson's Monu-
ment, by Westmacott, he exclaims: "I was struck by the
grandeur of the statue ; may be I was still more surprised
at being repeatedly asked to give lessons during the three
days of my stay in Liverpool. I visited Roscoe, and found
the old man very amiable and gracious. He took the
trouble to show me his new work upon West Indian plants,
and to give me most interesting explanations on the subject.
On the 8th of November, at noon, we had the rehearsal in
the Concert Room ; but w^hat a rehearsal ! Wretched is
too tame an expression for it. Mori, the London artist, did
all that possibly could be done, but what was to be made
out of a band consisting of a double quartet and four halting
v.ind instruments. The director of the theatre played the
entrepreneur of the concert, Mr. Wilson, the trick of keep-
ing away the orchestral performers, so that I was obliged to
play the first movement of the E flat concerto and the Alex-
ander Variations wnth a bare quartet accompaniment. The
brilliant and numerous audience was much pleased with my
Fantasia on 'Rule Britannia,' and an Irish air : and I was
enchanted with my Clementi piano. Every evening I write
to my wife, and the news I get from her cheers and invigor-
ates me for my [perform "^nce. On the 9th of November I
was very luccessfu"; with my firet concert at Chester : Phillips



THE CHRISTMAS WAITS. 75

.and I explored the interesting old city and its environs ; and
the next day we went on to Manchester. The better com-
position of the orchestra, directed by Mr, Cadmore, the gen-
eral management of the concert directors, Baker and
Fletcher, and the co operation of several clever Geiman
amateurs, gave a new zest to my performance, and I was
rapturously applauded. 1 could not, however, enjoy ihis
fully, as I was anxious to get home." The first notice, after
his return, tells us of the birth of his first-born, and then
follow many expressions of anxiety, ownng to the state of his
wife and child. Towards the end of the year, he writes :
'' My mind is at ease. I can go back again to my work. I
was at Erard's to-day, and saw his excellent pianos, which
are built upon the new principle ; but I decidedly refused
his proposal to bind myself down to play solely on them,
in spite of the profitable conditions he ofifered me. I intend
for the future to be as perfectly free in this respect as here-
tofore."' Later on he writes : " An odd incident made us
laugh heartily. At Christmas time, a band of wind-instru-
ments (the waits) plays here generally late in the evening,
and they mustered in force at my door ; I knew this custom
of old. and as I remembered all the tortures I had endured
from their falsely harmonized chorales, I ordered the servant
to tell them they would certainly get no Christmas-box
from me, unless they promised never to return again.
Trombone, much wounded, sent back to say, 'Tell your
master, if he does not like music, he will not go to
heaven.' "

Moscheles, after having finished a Fantasia for Collard,
remarks : " The twenty-five guineas I get for my work is
the best pan about it ; it belongs to that class of ephemeral
productions which I do not treat to the distinction of a num-
ber in the catalogue of my compositions."

On the 31st we read: " We end the year with feelings
of special gratitude to God's Providence, which has permit-
ted us to tide over great perils."



CHAPTER IX.
1826.

Stormy Voyage to Ireland — Impi-essions of Dublin — Reception at the
Castle — Return to London — Musical Activity — C. M. von Weber
— Der Freyschutz at Covent Garden — Improvisation — Rehearsal
of *' Oberon" — Braham's Benefit — Caprice of the'" Gods" —
Weber's Concert — Death of Weber — Thalberg — Visit to Germany
— Sontag — Felix Mendelssohn — Art and Artists in Berlin.

ON the first of January, Moscheles begins his diary
thus : " To-day I can call my happiness my own ; by
to morrow I shall have left it. But. courage ! it must be
so ! I am in honor bound to fulfil my engagements." He
went first to Bath, thence to Liverpool, arid thus describes
with much minuteness the dangers and difficulties in those
days inseparable from a long journey, and of which we, in
our age of rail and steamer, can scarcely form an idea.
"On the 4th of January, at seven a. m., I started from
Liverpool, and arrived at Birmingham at eight in the even-
ing. On the 5th I travelled without stopping day or night.
At two A. M., I had a grievous contretemps. We were close
to Bangor, and I, the only passenger, was turned out of the
warm coach into the cold, raw night, and made to cross the
rushing rivt-r in an open boat. It gave me the shivers, but
I stood my ground, muttering my watchword, ' Courage and
patience ! ' On the opposite shore a forlorn and solitary
passenger got inside the mail-coach, which was standing in
readiness. Thus we jogged on for the rest of the night —
wind blowing, snow falling — until at last, at five a. m., we
arrived at Holyhead."

''January 6th. — Eventful day! Severe trial! God's
saving hand ! In the hotel I found a respectable set of
fellow-travellers, consisting of two gentlemen and one lady,
ready to embark for Dublin. They were still waiting for
the Chester mail, which arrived at seven o'clock. We were



STO/HA/Y VOYAGE TO IRELAND.



77



told that there was no steamboat to take us across the
Channel; that the violent winds of the last few days had
kept all the steamers on the Irish side, but that a sailing
vessel would start immediately, and carry the mails across
in from six to seven hours. Would we passengers cross in
that vessel ? We agreed, and embarked shortly after seven
o'clock. It rained in torrents, and the sea was so high that
we soon betook ourselves to our berths. I suffered so
violently that after a few hours I was completely prostrate
The gale meanwhile increased. I counted the passing
hours. It grew dark, but we did not land. The steward,
on being asked when we should be released, whispered,
* Who knows .'* we are doing badly ! ' — Words too clearly
verified by the lurching of the boat. Although I lay
smothered in blankets and clothes, my feet v/ere perished
with cold. It cost me no slight effort to shake off my
drowsiness, and groping about, to discover that the sea-
water had got into my berth ; the ship had become leaky.
There was no longer any mystery about that, for the water
came hissing into the cabin. The storm howled fiercely;
it was pitch-d.irk. The captain could offer no other comfort
than the assurance that we were not far from shore. Of
course, not near enough to land. We were surrounded by
rocks and sandbanks, and yet not near enough for a distress
signal to be perceptible from the coast. At last, after a
long battle and the most fearful shocks from the waves,
which knocked our vessel about like a plaything, we were
able to throw out anchors, and there we poor victims lay
till daybreak. In this sad plight, however, I had not lost
heart ; faith in an Almighty Providence sustained me. I
could think with calmness of my wife and child. They
sleep peacefully, thank God, without sharing my hard fate.
They will either see me again and rejoice, or bear my loss,
with the help of God. I thought with painful c imposure
of my other friends and relations. It seemed but a little
step from this world to the next. At last, in the afternoon,
the welcome tiding^s came, ' We are all risjht, a boat ha •-
reached our ship, and will take us up.' Whereupon, after
getting together our goods and chattels, we were thrown, so
to speak, with them into the reeling boat, and, after a short
fight with the foaming surf, landed in Howth harbor.



7^



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



There I hired a postchaise, which carried me (a seven-mile
journey) to the city. The dreary, sandy plain, the country
dotted over with ruins, the sorry aspect of the people, dio
not, I am bound to confess, impress me very favorably.
At last I arrived in Dublin, drove over the beautiful Carlisle-
bridge, and the Liffey, to Westmoreland Street, where I
rested for a few hours in a lodging which Pigott, the music-
seller, had hired for me."

On the 8th of January, Mr, Pigott took him to Christ-
church, where he heard an old-fashioned anthem by Dr.
Spray. He then made a round of visits, and became
personally acquainted with Sir Charles and Lady Morgan.
'•I had often admired her as a writer," he observes, "and
now find her an exceedingly amiable and sociable hostess."

"January 9th. — To-day I received, through Colonel
Shaw, adjutant to the Lord-Lieutenant the Marquis of
Wellesley, the intelligence that his Excellency would attend
my concert, and that it would be under his special patron-
age. To-day he desired me to play before the Court. I
drove to the Palace in a smart carriage sent for me, and
found numbers of the Irish nobility assembled there, this
being the first soiree given by the Marchioness of Wellesley
since her recent marriage. Some good pieces, as well as
a terzetto for two guitars and Physharmonica (by Schulz
and his sons), were performed in dumb show, the great folk
talking loudly the whole time. The Lord-Lieutenant,
addressing me in French, alluded to the very flattering
recommendation I had brought him from Prince Esterhazy,
and then asked me to play, and their Excellencies, as well
as the whole party, were in raptures with my Fantasia on
Irish melodies.

"January nth. — ^Introduced to the Anacreontic Society,
consisting of amateurs who perform admirably the best or-
chestral works. The usual supper followed. After pro-
pitiating me with a trio from ' Cosi fan tutte,' they drew me
to the piano, but I did not trustthe old worn-out instrument,
and only played the overture to ' Figaro.' My health was
proposed at supper, and 1 had to return thanks.

" January 13th. — First concert at Dublin, in the Rotunda.
I suffered martyrdom at the rehearsal, chiefly from the wind
'nstruments. Nor did my troubles end there, for the di-



RETURN TO LONDON, 'jg

rector of the theatre, Mr. Abbot, forbade the attendance of
my singers, Messrs. Kean and Latham. It was not before
four o'clock, and after the rehearsal, that I succeeded in
bringing him to reason. Mrs. and Miss Ashe sang. The
E flat concerto and Alexander Variations were enthusias-
tically received, but my Fantasia on Irish themes was the
feature of the evening."

Moscheles dined with the Hibernian Catch Club, and
writes : " Several glees were sung, and as a finale I impro-
vised, whereupon the society unanimously elected me to an
honorary membership."

P'urther on we read : " M. Allan, son-in-law of Logier,
gave a public performance, where his pupils played. Pieces
of my' own were made to suffer. I repeat the word ^suffer?
I feel more and more that this Logier system may produce
good timeists, but what becomes of the right understanding
and grasp of the composition ? What of its poetry, when
eight pianos are drilled into playing together with unerring
precision .'' On the whole, I am struck by the musical taste
and enthusiasm of the Irish nation." Good news from home,
and a hearty reception in Ireland, amply explain the cheer-
ful tone observable in the diary of these days.

His wife writes : " Here is a business matter for you which
will make you laugh. Only ihink ; old Nageli, of Zurich,
asks you to compose a Sonata for his periodical, but you are
to avoid all repeating notes, all tenths, and all the usual
signs used to indicate the expression. To conclude, he
overwhelms you with compliments."

Towards the end of January Moscheles felt so exhausted
with playing in public and private, incessant lesson-giving,
and attention to his many and various duties, that he made
short work of his preparations, and set out for London and
his happy home. Here he found his wife's father, who had
arrived on a visit. The debates in both Houses of Parlia-
ment, Kemble's acting, Pasta's singing, and many other
attractions of the winter season — all these were delightful
novelties for the new-comer — but above all, Moscheles
could show witli honest pride a home, the comforts and hap-
piness of which had resulted from his own unwearied activity
and the honorable position he had achieved. Although his
numerous pupils necessarily occupied much of his time, he



8o RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS,

composed in the course of this season the E minor, B minor,
and D minor Studies, op. 70, his ''Recollections of Ireland,"
besides revising and correcting numbers of proof sheets, not
only for himself, but also for such of his friends as were
publishing compositions in England. These " Recollections
of Ireland," heard for the first time in London, were warmly
received at his concert. We read : " Kiesewetter played
beautifully, it is true, but he, a friend, claimed a fee of ten
guineas ; of course I agreed, but our friendly relations must
be henceforth interrupted ; friends ought to assist each other
gratis, that is my maxim. The great pressure of the public
at the concert necessitated the use of the Royal box, and
many of my patrons were obliged to leave the room for want
of seats." In those days people had not become acquainted
with the convenient institution of reserved seats.

The appearance of Carl Maria von Weber, who conduct-
ed the overture to '" Euryanthe," and an air from the same
opera, sung by Caradori, may have been the principal cause
of the crowded room. The illustrious man had been stay-
ing for the last two weeks with his friend Sir George Smart,
and there Moscheles often saw him, although Weber's
health obliged him to keep aloof from the generality of visit-
ors. Unfortunately, he needed that repose which he could
not find in a London season. Moscheles says : " What
emotion he must have felt on his first appearance yesterday,
before the English public, in Covent Garden Theatre! The
thundering applause with which he was greeted afi"ected us
deeply, bow much more himself, the honored object of all
this enthusiasm ! The performance consisted of a selection
from the ' Freysch"tz,' conducted by himself; the overture
was encored with acclamation. Braham, Miss Paton, and
Phillips sang the chief numbers of the opera ; they seemed
inspired by Weber's presence. During the peals of ap-
plause, Weber shook hands with the singers, to express his
pleasure and satisfaction ; at the end of the performance the
whole pit stood up on the benches, waving hats and hand-
kerchiefs, and cheering the composer. I saw him later on in
the evening, sitting in the green-room, and completely ex-
hausted ; he was too ill fully to enjoy this signal triumph in
a land of strangers, but we, I mean the poet Kind, the flute-
player FArstenau, the good old harp-player Stumpff, the



iMPR VISA Tioy. 8 1

publisher Schulz, and myself, as being bis fellow-country-
men, felt honored in our friend's reception."

On the 1 2th of March Moscheles, on hearing Weber
improvise in Braham's house, writes : " Although it was rot
a remarkable exhibition of his powers, he made his perform-
ance deeply interesting by introducing some subjects from
' Freyschatz.' Unfortunately his physical weakness makes
any great exertion dangerous, and yet at eleven o'clock he
hurried off to a large party given by Mrs. Coutts, as he was
to be handsomely paid for his services. How we grieved
at his thus over-exerting himself! "

On the 13th of March Weber is a guest at Moscheles'
dinner-table. " What a treat ! And yet even here the sight
of him moved us to intense pity ! for he could not utter a
word when he entered our room ; the exertion of mounting
the small flight of stairs had completely taken away his
breath ; he sank into a chair nearest the door, but soon
recovered, and became one of the most delightful and
genial of guests. We took him to the Philharmonic con-
cert, the first he ever heard ; the next was conducted by
himself. The following was the programme : —

Overtures to ' Euryanthe ' and ' Freyschiitz.'

Aria by Weber, composed for Mme. Milder, sung by

Madame Caradori.
Scena from ' Der Freyschiitz,' sung by Sapio.

Then Schuncke, a German, played the following pastic-
cio, conducted by the great German composer : —
I St Movement — Concerto C minor. Ries.
2d „ Part of Beethoven's E flat major Con-

certo.
3d „ Hungarian Rondo by Pixis.

"On the Tith of April I was present at the dress re-
hearsal of * Oberon ' at Coven t Garden ; people attended
it like a regular performance ; the costumes, scenery, and
the stage moon introduced with the air ' Ocean, thou mighty
Monster,' were admirable. This air, which was written
expressly for Miss Paton by Weber while in London, made
a grand effect, and so did the scena written for Braham

4*



32 EECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

(H'on). Both singers were allowed an opportunity of dis-
playing their fine voices, and producing certain striking
effects, which told powerfully on the audience. Weber, as
he sat at the conductor's desk, must have felt that it was
not merely an audience, but a nation rising to applaud, and
that his works would long survive him."

Poor Weber himself, in the midst of these triumphs,
became weaker and weaker, yet he continued to persevere in
active work, and conducted at several concerts where Mos-
cheles played his overtures to " Freysch;tz," "Oberon/'
etc. *' On the i8th of May," says Moscheles, " we both
assisted Braham in quite an original fashion : it was his
annual benefit (at Covent Garden Theatre), and he, the
most popular of English singers, used always on this occa-
sion to please the 'gods' by singing sailors' songs, so we
had to endure a similar state of things to night. Madame
Vestris, the popular singer, who appeared in the operetta
*The Slave,' found willing listeners among the occu-
pants of the galleries, who ruled the house, and were de-
lighted with such nursery ditties as ' Goosie Goosie Gander,''
etc. So far so well, but Braham had calculated without his
host in setting before such an audience as this good music
for the second part of the concert, which he called ' Apol-
lo's Festival,' and which, after the poor stuff that had been
played and sung, began with the overture to the ' Ruler of
the Spirits.' Could no one see that Weber himself was
conducting? Tm sure I don't know, but the screams and
hubbub in the gallery while the overture was played, with-
out a note being heard from beginning to end, made my
blood boil ; in a state of high indignation, I sat down to
my piano on the stage, and gave a sign to the band beneath
me to begin my ' Recollections of Ireland.' At the opening
bar of the introduction, the roughs in the gallery made
themselves heard by whistling, hissing, shouting, and call-
ing out ' Are you comfortable. Jack ? ' accompanying the
question with volleys of orange peel. I heard the alter-
nate crescendos and decrescendos ; and fancied that in this
chaos all the elements had been let loose, and would over-
power me ; but, thank heaven, they did not, for in this new
and unexpected situation I resolved not to come to any
sudden stoppage, but to show the better part of my audience



WEBER'S CONCERT. 83

that I was ready to fulfil my engagement, T stooped down
to the leading violinist, and said, ' I shall continue to move
my hands on the keyboard, as though really playing.
Make your band pretend to be plaxing also ; after a short
time I will give you a signal and we will leave ol^' together.'
No sooner said than done. On making my bow as [ retir-
ed, I was overwhelmed with a hurricane of applause. The
gods cheered n»e, being glad to get rid of me. Next came
Miss Paton, with a scena for tha concert room. She met
with a similar fate. Three times she stopped singing, but
came forward again, in answer to the calls of the well-be-
haved portion of the audience, who shouted 'silence.' At
last the poor lady went away, burst into tears, and gave it
up. Thunders of applause followed her exit, and when
common ballads and songs began afresh, the gods were
once more all attention and good behavior." This affair
went the round of all the papers. Moscheles was highly
commended for his calmness and self-possession, while the
tears of poor Miss Paton were rather severely commented
upon.

" I shall never forget, ' says Mrs. Moscheles, in one of
her weekly letters, " the 20th of May, the day of Weber's
concert ; for the composer, now so near his end, had made
great exertions for a performance to be held in the Argyll
Rooms, and yet met with so little support from the public.
Lovers of music and the papers express their regret that it
should be so, but say : Why hold it on the Derby-day, or
allow it to clash with private concerts which monopolize
the fashionable world t It was badly timed. As to the
middle classes, they can only attend the theatres, and must
not be charged with the neglect of his enterprise. Be that
as it may, Weber conducted the never- failing overtures to
' Oberon' and ' Euryanthe ; ' his slill unknown cantata.
' The Festival of Peace ; ' and a new ballad, written for and
sung by Miss Stephens ; Braham gave the air from ' Frey-
schatz' very finely; Furstenau, the flute-player, was heard
for the first time, in some variation from ' Oberon ; ' Kiese-
wetter played his inevitable Mayseder Variations in E ma-
jor, and Moscheles took his subject for improvisation from
the Cantata 'Festival of Peace,' interwoven with ' motives '
from the ' Freysch Atz.' Madame Caradori and Braham



84 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

were the soloists in the cantata. To think of such music
in an empty room." Weber's disappointment at his ill suc-
cess was so intense that he determined on forfeiting the
receipts of his proposed benefit at the theatre, where " Der
Freyschiitz" was to be performed under his direction, and
occupied himself solely with preparations for his journey
homewards.

In spite of the anxiety about Weber, Moscheles' birth-
day was not allowed to pass without some attempt at gayety.
" This time," his wife writes to relatives, " we had a tableau,
quite uninue in its wa}^ but aias ! matters are growing
worse and worse with Weber." On the 4th of June Mos-
cheles writes in his diary : " Sunday : When I visited the
great man to-day, he talked very confidently of his return
to Germany, but the frequent attacks of a dreadful convul-
sive cough, which left him completely prostrate, filled our
minds with the utmost anxiety. When with great effort he
managed to tell me that he intended starting in two days'
time, that I was to prepare my letters, and he hoped to see
me again to-morrow, I was deeply moved, although I never
suspected that 1 was looking on him for the last time as a
living man. I left him with his friends. Kind and F:'rstenau,
and exchanged a few sad words with his kind host, Sir G.
Smart, who told me that on no account would Weber suffer
any one to sit up with him ; that every night he locked the
door of his bedroom, and that only to-day he had yielded
to the earnest entreaties of his friends, and promised to
leave it open, adding that he had peremptorily refused to
allow anybody, either friends or paid attendant, to watch be-
side him.

"June 5th. — Early this morning I was summoned in all
haste to Sir G. Smart's. At eleven o'clock last night Furs-
tenau had conducted Weber to his bedroom ; his friends
went to his door at an early hour, but found it locked inside,
contrary to Weber's promise. To do this he must have got
up during the night. It was in vain to knock or call for
admission ; no answer came. So Sir George sent to me
and other friends, and the door was broken open in our
presence. The noise did not disturb the sleeper ; it was
his sleep of death. His head, resting on his left arm, was
lying quietly on the pillow Any attempt to describe



DEATH OF WEBER. 55

the depth of my sorrow would be profanation. I thought
Weber a composer quite sui generis ; one who had the im-
perishable glory of leading back to our German music a
public vacillating between Mozart, 13eetlioven, and Rossini.
On his dressing-table lay a small washing-bill written by
him. This 1 put in my pocket-book, where I carried it ever
after. I helped Sir G. Smart and Filrstenau to seal up
Weber's papers, and Sir George, feeling his great responsi-
bility, sent for my own private seal.

"June 6th. — This morning, after the body of the great
composer was placed in a leaden coffin, we opened and ex-
amined all his letters and papers, and made a list of all the
property. Besides the thousand pounds which he must
have earned in London, there was a further sum of a thou-
sand pounds which he had received from the publishers,
Walsh and Hawes, for the pianoforte edition of ' Oberon.'
We found the manuscript of that opera, and came upon a
song which he had composed for a Mr. Ward, who had
paid him 25/. for it. The pianoforte accompaniment was
untinished. Sir George eagerly pressed me to complete it.
(This was done in after-years.) I appropriated to myself a
few sheets of the first sketches of ' Oberon.' "

A committee was now formed to decide upon the mode
of conducting Weber's funeral. It consisted of the music
publishers, Chappell and D'Almaine, W. Collard, from the
firm of Clementi and Co., Preston and Power, Sir G. Smart,
his brother, Mr. Smart, the composer, Sir John Stevenson,
Mr. Attwood, organist of St. Paul's Cathedral, Braham, the
singer, and Moscheles. It was proposed to give Mozart's
Requiem in the Catholic Chapel, Moorfields, the receipts to
be appropriated to raising a monument to Weber. But fail-
ing to secure the permission of the Roman Catholic Bishop,
who wished his congregation to have free admission, appli-
cation was made to the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's,
with a view of securing a performance of the Requiem in
their Cathedral. These gentlemen would not hear of a Re-
quiem being performed in the Cathedral, and thus, after a
deal of useless discussion and writing, the body of the great
man was deposited on the 21st of June in the Catholic
Chapel of Moorfields. The public were admitted without
payment, so that no money was collected for a monument.



86 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

"We artists," says Moscbeles, "assembled for the funeral
at nine o'clock in the morning, in the house of Sir G. Smart,
and the procession moved on to the chapel in Moorfields.
After the usual service, Mozart's Requiem was sung. Then
twelve musicians (myself among the number) carried the
body into the vault, while the funeral march from Handel's
' Saul ' was played. Those solemn strains touched all of us
most deeply."

On the 1 2th of June the Philharmonic Society began their
concert with the " Dead March in Saul," noted in the pro-
gramme "as a tribute to a departed genius. " On the 17th of
the same month " Oberon" was given in Covent Garden The-
atre for the benefit of Weber's family, but only two-thirds of
the house was filled. " This again passes my comprehension."

We read in a letter of Mrs. Moscheles : " Everything
that my husband plays in public is trumpeted forth to you
in the newspapers as ' matchless,' ' unrivalled,' and what
not ! They must soon invent some new epithet. But /can
only tell you of the kindly use he makes of his art in a quiet
way. Yesterday, for example, our good old friend, Madame
G., told me, with tears in her eyes, that for the first time
since her sorrow she had enjoyed a happy quarter of an
hour, and that was when Moscheles played to her. He
went to the house for the very purpose, and we spent the
evening quite alone with the family. His sympathy is al-
ways shown by acts, not words, and yet every hour of the
evening is of consequence to him."

In the course of this season we find Moscheles playing
constantly for the benefit of his friends and for several
charitable institutions. Being unable to spare much time
for rehearsals, he often extemporized, choosing generally
for his subject the motivo of some piece which had par-
ticularly pleased the audience that evening. Of his own
works, " Clair de Lune," the " Rondo in D major," and the
" Recollections of Ireland" were invariably welcome. The
most distinguished of his pupils at that time was Thalberg,
who, although still a young man, was already an artist of
distinction and mark. It was a source of great satisfaction
to Moscheles, who had pioneered the young pianist, to see
him recognized, not merely by the public in general, but by
such men as Cramer and Clementi.



VISIT TO GERMAyy.



87



Many a fashionable soirJ'e, entailing preparation, and
leaving notning behind but a feeling of ennui, was voted an
interruption in Moscheles' household, but the assemblage
of celebrated men at the Rothschilds and some other
houses is noted as interesting, and Prince Dietrichstein's
invitation to a grand fancy dress ball in Covent Garden
Theatre, from the brilliancy of the scene and the crowds
that attended, quite unique in its way. Pit, stalls, and
proscenium were formed into one grand room, in which the
crowd promenaded. The costumes were of every conceiv-
able variety, and many of the most gorgeous description.
The spectators in full dress sat in the boxes. On the stage
was a Court box, occupied by the Royal Family, and bands
played in rooms adjoining, for small parties of dancers.
"You will have some idea," says Mrs. Moscheles, "of the
crowd at this ball, when I tell you that we left the ball-room
at two o'clock, and did not get to the Prince's carriage till
four."

Moscheles could not escape from the whirl of a London
season until early in August, when he started for Hamburg,
He marks the 7th of August, when he and his wife met
their relatives, as a red letter day in his calendar. Six
quiet happy weeks were enjoyed at Hamburg, and his
intercourse with musical men, especially Bernhard Rom-
berg, is often enlarged upon in the diary. The C major
concerto was written during this visit. Leaving Hamburg,
Moscheles, accompanied by his wife, halted first at Leipzig,
where he played his newest compositions with great suc-
cess, and had a pleasant meeting with his old friv nd Grill-
parzer, whose tragedy, ' Medea,' was given at the Theatre,
in honor of the poet. During the next few weeks he
played alternately in Leipzig and Dresden, and at the latter
place speaks of an enjoyable evening at Tieck's (the trans-
lator of Shakespeare,) who recited his satirical play " Die
Verkehrte Welt." After a short visit to Prague, Moscheles
gave two concerts at Vienna with the same unvarying
success. In private circles, too, his return was eagerly
welcomed, and his wife affectionately greeted. They never
failed to attend the levees of his former patroness, Frau
von E., which took place daily between four and six, the
interval between dinner and theatre. The old lady, painted



88



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



rouged, and reclining on her luxurious sofa, received
company. Abbes, poets, savants, such as Carpani, the
friend and biographer of Haydn, and others, met at these
afternoon receptions, where the last new thing in politics,
or Vienna gossip, was discussed by officials and statesmen.
Ladies appeared in evening dress. The conversation was
carried on in rather poor French, and the atmosphere
generally seemed artificial and difficult to breathe. Mos-
cheles also saw much of Czerny, the Abbe Stadler, and
Schindler (Tami de Beethoven, as he styled himself on his
visiting cards). He was prevented from listening to the
tempting offers of new engagements at Vienna, by a sum-
mons to attend his sister's marriage in Prague, where he
gave two crowded concerts in the theatre. He notes the
following: "During my improvisation, I interwove the
melody in Cherubini's ' Wassertrager,' a combination which



5E^



<fee.



with the Bohemian National Air :






irzrzz^Jpif:



f^=^



^ — ^-



<fec.



was received with rounds o{ applause. I delighted in see-
ing my mother and wife, who sat together, enjoying my
triumph." Again we find him at Dresden. '"" I gave
another successful concert, in the presence of Royalty, and
svas presented by Prince Max and Princess Louise with a
pin — a laurel wreath of diamonds with a sapphire for the
centre."'

"November loth. — Visited poor Frau von Weber,
talked a great deal about her irreparable loss, and the



SON TAG. 8g

many sad circumstances connected* with it. I promised
her my best exertions to settle some business for her when
I got back to London."

Next day Moscheles travelled to Berlin, and of course
visited the Mendelssohns immediately after his arrival.

" November 12th. — Fanny's fourteenth birthday cele-
brated with music and dancing. 1 relieved the young
composer Dorn by playing some of the dance-music, and
had an earnest conversation with A. B. Marx on the sub-
ject of music."

Owing to the worry incidental to preparations for his
own concert, the sociable and delightful meetings with the
Mendelssohns, Beer, Bendemann, and others were sadly
interfered with. His friend Blume assisted him, although
he and Sontag had been forbidden by the manager of a
rival theatre to sing for him.

"November 21st. — Day of the concert. Practiced a
great deal on an instrument w-hich Madame Spontini
(Erard's sister) sent me, with an urgent request that I
would play on it at my concert. Frilulein Sontag, who was
not allowed to help me positively, did so negativel}^ by
giving out that she was hoarse. Instead of singing in the
' Sargin,' she went with my wife to the concert, and escaped
observation by hiding in the back of the box. When I
thanked the famous artibte, she said with her peculiarly
sweel smile, * But, dear Moscheles, should not an old Vien-
nese friend help to frustrate the cabals of a theatrical
director?' S'Jettl is immer noch's Jettl."* In spite of
her good-nature and Muser's proficiency as leader of the
band, the room was only two-thirds full, probably on
account of the late announcement and other unfavorable
circumstances."

The meeting with Felix Mendelssohn and his family was
the source of many happy hours to the Moscheles'. "How
delighted I was when he and his sister Fanny played as a
pianoforte duet his new overture to the ' Midsummer Night's
Dream,' and how grand I thought his sonata in E major !
He played me also his great overture in C, with the leading
subject for trumpets, and a small caprice which he called

* " S'Tettl (familiar name for Henrietta) is still S'Jettl."



90



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



' Absurdite.' This great and still youthful genius has once
more made gigantic strides, but, strange to say, these are
but little recognized except by his teachers, Zelter, Louis
Berger, and a select few. This prophet, too, is not honored
in his own country ; he must go elsewhere. I am glad that
he, Marx, and some connoisseurs show much interest in my
' Studies,' by repeatedly coming to me to hear them played.
Marx declares he is prepared to score one in C minor,
entitled ' The Conflict of Demons,' which he thinks particu-
larly well suited to a band." The origin of this C minor
Study is curious. Moscheles had composed for his wife
the " Rondo Expressif in her favorite key of A flat major,
and she practiced it wdth great zeal, but never satisfied
herself in the running scale passage at the end, and com-
plained to him of this. "Very well," said he ; "every one
who feels this difficulty like you shall have a whole study
of such runs to practice, and then they will soon learn them
well enough."

The Chevalier Spontini was very friendly towards Mos-
cheles, and never classed him among the rivals and envious
foes of whom he constantly complained ; he consulted him
privately with reference to the sum he should ask for the
sale of his operas in England, and as to what means he
should adopt for bringing out his works there.

At the KOnigstadt Theatre the charming Sontag de-
lighted Moscheles in the " Sargin," the " Dame Blanche,"
and the "Italiana in Algieri." Blume showed Moscheles
his new opera, "^Der Bramine," in manuscript. Moser was
just then studying Beethoven's ninth symphony, and Mos-
cheles attended the orchestral rehearsals and the perform-
ance with an ever-increasing interest and admiration for
that colossal work.

On the 28th of November, a second concert took place
in the Grand Opera House, that was filled to overflowing.
The whole Court attended. Moscheles played, among
other things, the E flat major Concerto, dedicated to the
King.

The last month of the year was spent at Hamturg,
where he finished his " Twenty-four Studies," op. 70, and
the Fantasia, "Anticipations of Scotland."



CHAPTER X.
1827.

Tour in Germany- -Spohr — Elector of Hesse-Cassel — Musical Pupils-—
Tyrolese Singers — Escape from a Difficulty — Liszt — Letters from
Beethoven — His Melancholy Condition — Correspondence with
Schindler and Rau— .Beethoven's Relatives — Karl van Beethoven
— Generous Assistance of the London Philharmonic Society —
Death of Beethoven — Stars in London — Dinner to Clementi —
Heine the Poet.

MOSCHELES inaugurated the year 1827 by giving
concerts in Hanover and Gottingen, availing himself
of his opportunity in the latter place of attending a few
lectures of the most learned men in the University, while
he was warmly welcomed by the inhabitants of the town
itself and the students.

At Cassel he writes : " I am so delighted at seeing
Spohr again, the consciousness that I understand this great
man, the mutual interest we take in each other's perform-
ances — all this is delightful. His garden is charming even
in winter." The diary gives frequent evidence of Spohr's
devoting his time to Moscheles. On the 8th of January,
he assists him in making his concert arrangements. On
the following day we read : '' To-day Hauptmann, Gerke,
and others met at Spohr's, and there was no end of music.
On the loth of January with Spohr at Wilhelmshohe, and
dined at his house. Next day, during the rehearsal of my
concert, received (to the astonishment of every one) an
order from the Electoral Prince, intimating that my concert
must be changed from the Town-hall to the Theatre, since
the Elector and suite wished to attend." A letter from
Mrs. Moscheles supplements these remarks. "This Elec-
tor, you must know, has not chosen hitherto to attend any
concert in the Town-hall because there are no boxes there,
and as a rule refuses the theatre for concerts (he has done



p2 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICl/iNS.

SO to Hummel) ; you see, he honors my husband as much
as it is in the power of an Elector of Hesse-Cassel to do."
The success of this concert is recorded in the diary, the
band under Spohr's leading called " splendid," and the
singing of Wild and Heinefetter highly praised. We again
quote from the diary : " When we can find a quiet hour, it
is devoted to my ' Twenty-four Studies.' I write the title-
page, and prefix some observations to each separately, to
make the pupil correctly understand my intention, each
study being meant to overcome some special difficulty.
My wife makes a translation straight off" into French and
English, for Probst publishes the 'Studies' for Germany
and Schlesinger for France. In England I have stipulated
with Cramer and Beale for a share of one-fourth in the
profits."

At the next halting-place — Elberfeld — Moscheles want-
ed to escape giving a half-promised concert, but the local
music-director had already circulated a subscription list,
and assured Moscheles that the public would take no re-
fusal. " At last," he writes, " I saw that it was a point of
honor, and consented. The programme will, or should xxm.
thus : — Symphony by Beethoven, played as well as possible
by a set of fiddlers calling themst^lves an orchestra ; my E
major concerto, played by me with every possible precau-
tion, that the band may not lag behind ; Alexander Varia-
tions ; air to be sung by a soprano, supposing such a one
to exist ; four-part songs for male voices, as a makeshift if
the lady is not forthcoming ; the whole to conclude with an
extempore performance, after which I suppose, they will let
me depart in peace. The expenses will be deducted from
the receipts — all clear profits to go to oats and hay for the
post-horses. Forgive all this nonsense. I only want to
show you that we are in excellent spirits "

Aix is their next station, and there Mrs. Moscheles
writes : " On the very day of the Elberfeld concert half the
streets were under water, so that only some of the band
came to rehearsal — a fraction of a fraction ! The people,
however, swam to the evening performance in coaches.
The room was crammed. Here, in Aix, our old friends
are so taken up with us, that you must forgive me for only
sending you a hasty scribble." "1, too," adds Moscheles,



MUSICAL PUPILS.



93



" will send my scribble ; if only to tell you how pleased I
am to think that this tour, if nothing to speak of in the
pecuniary way, will give me fresh impetus as an artist.
Here, where 1 have been so often heard, my subscription
list bears witness to ihe eagerness with which my concert
is- expected, and for such honors I gladly forfeit my London
lessons, but must say I delight in the thought of sending
you my next letter from our clear little home in England/'
Shortly after his return we find him speaking in the highest
terms of an Erard piano, sent to Bath expressly for him,
and \\\ the spring of this year he completes his '' Fifty Pre-
ludes for the Piano," '' Les Charmes de Londres," and a
second rondo for the ''Album des Pianistes."' He wrote,
too, at the instance of enterprising publishers, a number of
fugitive pieces, to suit the fashion of the day. These, com-
posed offhand, were, in his eyes, of such little value as not
to be catalogued among his regular works, but they were of
use to him in teaching a certain class of pupils which mus-
tered in great force this year. " They shrink,'' he says,
"from all serious study. Occasionally a mamma says:
' Will you give her something with a pretty tune in it, bril-
liant, and not too difficult?' To meet this wish I try to
avoid full chords and uncommon modulations, but this
makes me look upon such pieces as spurious bantlings, not
as the genuine offspring of my Muse."

Allusions like these to the prevalent taste for easy flow-
ing music, account for England's welcoming as a pleasing
novelty a family consisting of four singers of the name of
Rainer (three brothers and a sister), who made a pilgrim-
age from the Zillertlial to London. Like almost all artists
fresh from the Continent, they had letters of recommenda-
tion to Moscheles. He arranged for their daily perform-
ance in the Egyptian Hall, where they sang their exquisite
Tyrolese melodies, varying the entertainment with their
national dances. Their freedom from affectation, the pure
delivery of their characteristic songs, their dress — the genu-
ine Tyrolese costume — all these together proved very at-
tractive and delightful to a constantly increasing crowd of
hearers. In spite of the moderate entrance-fee, the under-
taking answered. More than this, these Tyrolese folk
became the fashion. At the most brilliant and fashionable



94



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



soir 'es, they relieved with their national melodies the songs
of the greatest operatic singers. King George IV. was so
delighted when he heard them, that he presented them with
new costumes, in strict imitation of their own, of which they
were very proud. These Rainers, who were constantly
running in and out of Moscheies' house, either to ask his
advice, or to tell him of their successes, did him quite un-
expectedly a great service. There was a regular fatality
atlend ng the arrangements of his annual concert. One
singer was hoarse, another was unavoidably absent, and all
this at the eleventh hour. When we consider that the pro-
gram;ne still contained the names of Caradori, Stockhau-
sen, Gain, and de Begnis as singers, and that not only De
Beriot, but also Cramer and Moscheies were to play, one
would suppose that the omission of a few vocal pieces
would do no harm ; but your regular concert-goer is tena-
cious of his rights, and this made Moscheies apply to the
Rainers. '' I hurried off to them. ' Can you do me the
favor to slip away for a little time from your soiree at
Lady. . . . ? Will you sing twice for me ? 1 am in a diffi-
culty.' 'Of course we will,' said the whole quartet, uniso-
no. They came and sang, and the gaps in the pn^gramme
were filled up capitally."

Moscheies, yielding to an importunate music-publisher
in London, wrote some slight pianoforte pieces on the Tyro-
lese melodies ; but the favored firm was sued by another,
whose offer had been rejected, and the rival publishers went
to law. Moscheies' publisher won his suit, and sustained
no injury.

During this season the youthful Liszt was in London:
although he appeared often, playing in his magnificent bra-
vura style, his concert on the 9th of June was but thinly at-
tended. Moscheies thus alludes to the performance. " The
'Concerto in A minor' contains chaotic beauties ; as to his
playing, it surpasses in power and mastery of difficulties
everything I have ever heard."

These were busy days for Moscheies, who frequently
played at two concerts on the same evening. In the midst
of this cheerful and active life, the news of the mighty Beet-
hoven's illness fell upon Moscheies like a thunderbolt. His
first impressions on receiving the intelligence are thus re-



LETTERS FROM BEETHOVEN.



95



corded. "Shocking news from Stumpff! He tells me he
has received a letter giving details of Beethoven's dangerous
state. What a fearful misfortune for art, and how disgrace-
ful that there should be a question of Beethoven's being
properly supplied with the necessaries of life ! Such a thing
seems to me absolutely incredible. I can't bear to think
of it."

In the first flush of emotion, Moscheles wrote to his old
friend, Herr Lewinger, in Vienna, for accurate information
about Beethoven's health and circumstances, but before the
arrival of the answer so eagerly looked for (the postal com-
munications in those days were slow, and in the winter par-
ticularly unreliable^ the following letter from Beethoven to
Moscheles came to hand : a letter which left no further
doubt of the great man's unhappy condition.

"■ Vienna, 22d Feb. 1827.

" My dear Moscheles, — I am convinced you will not
take it amiss if 1 trouble you, as well as Sir Smart, for whom
I enclose a letter, with a petition. The matter shortly told
is this : — Some years ago the Philharmonic Society, in Lon-
don, made me the handsome offer of arranging a concert for
my benefit. At that time, thank God, I was not in such a
position as to be obliged to make use of their generous offer.
Now, however, I am quite in a different position ; for nearly
tliree months I have been laid low by a terribly wearisome
illness. I am suffering from dropsy. Schindler will give
you more details in the letter which I enclose. You know
of my old habit of life. You also know how and where I
live. As for my writing music, I have long ceased to think
of it. Unhappily, therefore, I may be so placed as to be
obliged to suffer want. You have not only a wide circle of
acquaintances in London, but also important influence with
the Philharmonic Society. I beg you, therefore, to use this in-
fluence as far as you can, to induce the Philharmonic Society
to resuscitate their generous resolution, and carry it out
speedily. 1 enclose a letter to the same effect to Sir Smart,
and have sent another already to Herr Stumpff. Please
give the letter to Sir Smart, and unite with him and all my
friends in London for the furtherance of my object. I am



96



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



SO weak, that even the dictation of this letter is a difficulty
to me. Remember me to your amiable wife, and be assured
that I shall always be your friend,

" Beethoven.

" Answer me soon, so that I may hear if I am to hope
for anything."

This letter enclosed another of the most distressing
kind, written by Schindler, Beethoven's friend, who nursed
him in his illness.

"Vienna, 22d Feb. 1S27.

" Dearest Friend, — You will see, on reading through
the letter of our unfortunate friend Beethoven, that I too
propose addressing a few lines to you. I have much to
write to you about, but will confine my remarks solely to
Beethoven; for at present his state is to me the all-impor-
tant subject and one closest to my heart. His letter to
you contains an expression of his requests and most ardent
wishes. His letter to Sir Smart is in the same vein, as
well as an earlier one in my handwriting written to Stumpff,
the harp-manufacturer.

On the occasion of your last visit here, I described to
you Beethoven's position with regard to money-matters,
never suspecting that the moment was so near when we
should see this great man drawing near his end, under
circumstances so peculiarly painful. We may well say
' his end,' for, judging by his present state, recovery is out
of the question. Although we keep the truth from him, he
must, I think, have his presentiments. It was not before
the 3d of December that he and his good-for-nothing
nephew returned from the country. On his journey hither,
he was obliged, from stress of weather, to pass the night in
a small and wretched pot-house, where he caught so bad a
chill that it brought on an immediate attack of inflammation
of the lungs, and it was in this condition that he arrived
here. The bad symptoms had just yielded to treatment,
when dropsv of so determined and violent a character set
in, that Beethoven had to be operated on on the i8th of



HIS MELANCHOLY CONDITION. gy

December. His state was such that there was no alterna-
tive. This operation was followed by a second on the 8th
of January, and a third on the 20th of the same month.
Scarcely was the wound allowed to heal, when the pressure
increased so rapidly that 1 often feared the patient would
be suffocated before anotlier operation could be effected.
It is only now that I find him partially relieved, and should
he go on favorably, we may, I think, allow from eight to
ten days to elapse before be undergoes a fourth operation.

" Now, my friend, remembering his impatience, and
more than all, his quick temper, just picture to yourself
Beethoven in such a fearful illness. Think of him, too,
brought to this sad state by that wretched creature, his
nephew, and partly, too, by his own brother ; for both
doctors, Malfatti and Professor Wawruch, declare that the
good man's illness arises in part from the fearful anxieties
of mind to which his nephew had for a long time subjected
him, and that the disease had been aggravated by Beet-
hoven's staying too long in the country during the wet
season. This could not well be helped, for by order of the
police the young man was obliged to quit Vienna, and it
was not easy to get a commission for him in any regiment.
He is now cadet to the Archduke Ludwig, and treats his
uncle just as he always did, although living entirely on
him, as in former days. A fortnight ago Beethoven sent
him the letter to Sir Smart, to translate into English ; we
have had no answer at all yet, although he is at Iglau, only
a few stations from here.

" Should you, my dear Moscheles, succeed jointly with
Sir Smart in inducing the Philharmonic Society to comply
with Beethoven's wishes, you would certainly be doing an
act of the greatest kindness. The expenses of this tedious
illness are unusually great; so much so that the apprehen-
sion of being impoverished, and in want, troubles Beet-
hoven night and day, for he would die rather than be forced
to accept anything from his odious brother.

"Jud2;ing by the present symptoms, dropsy will turn to
consumption, for he is now worn to a skeleton, and yet his
constitution will enable him to struggle for a long time
against this painful death.

" It pains him still more to find that not a soul here



gS RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS,

takes any notice of him, and certainly this lack of symp;ithy
is most surprising. In former times, if he was slightly
indisposed, people used to drive up to his door, and in-
quire for him. Now he is completely forgotten, as though
he had never lived in Vienna. Mine is the greatest trouble,
and I sincerely hope matters may speedily change in one
way or another, for I lose all my time, I alone having to do
everything for him, because he will not allow any one else
to come near him, and it would be inhuman to forsake him
in his absolutely helpless condition.

" Just now he speaks frequently about a journey to
London after his recovery, and is calculating on the cheap-
est way we can live during our absence from home. Mer-
ciful Heaven ! I fear his journey will be a further one
than to England. His amusement, when he is alone, con-
sists in reading the old Greek classics, and several of W.
Scott's novels, which delight him.

" If you, my dear friend, feel certain that the Philhar-
monic Society will carry out the project which they started
years ago, pray don't omit to let Beethoven know at once ;
it would put life into him. Try to persuade Sir Smart to
write to him as well, so that he may receive a double assur-
ance of the good tidings. May God be with you ! Give my
kindest regards to your excellent wife, with the highest es-
teem. Your most devoted friend,

"Ant. Schindler.

" P. S. — If the Concert proposed by the Philharmonic
Society for Beethoven's benefit comes off, the committee
should most distinctly give Beethoven to understand that
the money must be appropriated to his own wants, and not
to that of his most unnatural relatives, least of all to his un-
grateful nephew. This would be a most beneficial plan ; if
it is not carried out, Beethoven will give the money to his
nephew, who will merely squander it, while he himself suf-
fers want."

"Sick — in necessity — abandoned — a Beethoven!" ex-
claims Moscheles. The excitement in the house was intense.
Moscheles hurried off to Smart, and their first impulse was
to send the great man 20/, thus enabling him to procure



CORRESPOXDEXCE WITH SCHINDLER AND RA U. 09

small comforts, and to show him that a Beethoven should
never be allowed to feel want. It occurred, however, in
lime to Moscheles that the 20/. would probably be looked
on by Beethoven as a kind of alms, that he might not only
be offended, but probably enraged ; so, abandoning the
idea of sending the money, they applied without delay to
the leading members of the Philharmonic Society. These
gentlemen, equally shocked and as eager to help as Smart
and Moscheles, reasonably asked for a short delay, so as to
call together the members of their society, and to take coun-
sel as to the ways and means of helping Beethoven. Mean-
time Beethoven's second letter, with an enclosure of Schind-
ler's, arrived. They run thus : —

" Vienna, 14th March, 1S27.

"Mv DEAR GOOD MoscHELES, — I havc lately heard,
through Herr Lewinger, that in a letter of the loth of Feb-
ruary, you asked for information on the subject of my illness,
about which people spread such various rumors. Although
1 feel no kind of doubt that you duly received my first letttr
of the 22d of February, which will explain to you every-
thing you want to know, still I cmnot help thanking you
heartily for your sympathy with my sad condition, and en-
treating you once more to take to heart the request made
in my first letter. I anticipate with something like assur-
ance that you, acting jointly with Sir Smart, Herr Stumpff,
Mr. Neate, and others of my friends, are certain to succeed
in obtaining a favorable result for me from the Philharmonic
Society. Since then, happening by chance to find Sir
Smart's address, I have written again to him, pressing my
request very earnestly.

"On the 27th of February I was operated on for the
fourth time, and now the return of certain symptoms makes
it plain that soon I must expect a fifth operation. What
will come of \0. What will become of me, if this state of
things cortinues ? Truly my lot is a very hard one, but I
bow to the decree of fate, and only pray to God constantly
that, in His holy wisdom. He may so dispose of me that,
however long I must suffer death in lite, I may stil^ be
shielded from want. This conviction would fortifv me to



lOO RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

bear my lot, however hard and terrible it may be, with res-
ignation to the will of the Most High. So, my dear Mos-
cheles, once more I commend my cause to your care, and
remain always with the greatest esteem,

" Your friend,

" Beethoven".

"Hummel is here, and has paid me several visits al-
ready."

Schindler's letter was as follows —

" My dearest Friend, — I add a scrap to Beethoven's
letter, from which you can gather information about his
present state. Thus much is certain that he is nearer death
than recovery, for his whole frame is wasting away. Still
matters may go on thus for many months, for his lungs even
now seem made of steel.

"In the event of the Philharmonic Society granting
Beethoven's request, pray contrive that the money shall be
lodged with some safe person— ^V., a banker — on whom
Beethoven could draw by instalments. The Philharmonic
Society might unreservedly explain to Beethoven that they
adopt these means solely for his benefit, as they know but
too well that the relatives who are around him do not act
honestly by him, etc. He is sure to be startled by this an-
nouncement, but I and others in whom he confides, will
make him thoroughly understand that such a line of con-
duct is meant in real kindness, and he will be satisfied. In
any case, whatever property he leaves behind will come into
the hands of the most unworthy people, and it were better
it was left to the House of Correction.

"Hummel and his wife are here. He travelled as fast
as he could, with the hope of finding Beethoven still alive,
for it was commonly reported in Germany that he was /// ex-
tremis. The meeting of these two men last Thursday was a
truly affecting sight. I had previously warned Hummel to
betray no emotion at the interview with Beethoven, but he
was so overpowered at the sight that, in spite of all his
struggles, he could not help bursting into tears. Old
Streicher came to the rescue. The first tliing that Beet-



GENEROUS ASSISTANCE. lOl

hoven said to Hummel was, 'Look here, my dear Hummel,
here is a picture of the house where Haydn was born ; it
was made a present to me to-day. I take a childish pleas-
ure in it — to think of so great a man being born in so
wretched a hovel ! "

''As I looked on these two men, who never were the
best of friends, they seemed to forget al! the differences and
quarrels of their past lives in this most affectionate conver-
sation. They have both appointed to meet next summer in
Carlsbad. Alas ! alas ! My heartiest remembrance to
your amiable wife, and now, adieu !

" Your constant and sincere friend,

" Ant. Schindler."

Meantime the Philharmonic Society had determined on
and carried out a scheme that must of necessity be advan-
tageous to poor Beethoven. It was resolved unanimously
at a meeting, which Moscheles attended as a member, that
Beethoven should not be kept waiting until a concert could
be arranged. The season of the year was unfavorable, and
a concert in a great city like London involves a delay of
from four to six weeks for preparation. They desired, there-
fore, to hand him over at once, through Moscheles, loo/. ;
but, to spare his sensitive feelings, resolved to suggest that
the money was merely in anticipation of the proceeds of a
concert already in preparation. The following letter from
Rau (one of Moscheles' oldest Viennese friends) proves that
the money was sent and reached Vienna without delay

*• Vienna, 17th March, 1827.

" Dear Friend, — After a very severe attack of inflamma-
tion of the eyes, which kept me closely confined to my room
for three weeks, 1 am, thank God, once more so far recovered
that I can take up my pen, although writing is an effort.
Make a guess at anything you can't read, and don't be hard
on ma where you find me illegible.

"Your letter, with the 100/. sent to Beethoven, cam a
sai'ely to hand. It gave me great and unexpected pleasure.
The great man, whom all Europe justly delights to honor,
the noble-hearted Beethoven, lies here in Vienna on his Ijeri
of sickness. He is in dire distress, and although alive, stilj



I02 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICL4NS.

in imminent danger, and this news we must receive from
London I There it is that his high-minded friends eagerly
try to sooth his affliction, alleviate his wants, and save him
from despair.*

" I drove oiT at once to his house, that I might satis'^v
myself about his condition, and inform him of the help at
hand. It was heart breaking to see him clasp his hands
and shed tears of joy and gratitude. You, his noble-
hearted benefactors, would have been rewarded and
delighted to witness a scene so deeply touching.

" T found poor Beethoven in the most wretched condi-
tion, more like a skeleton than a living being. He was in
the last stage of dropsy, and it has been necessary to tap
him four or five times. His medical attendant is Doctor
Malfatti, so he is in excellent hands, but Malfatti gives him
little hope. It is impossible to say for certain how long his
present state will continue, or if recovery may yet be possi-
ble ; but the recent news of the help afforded him has
worked a .»'emarkable change. The emotion of joy was so
excessive as to lupture, in the course of the night, one of
the punctured wounds that had cicatrized over ; the water
which had accumulated for fourteen days flowed away in
streams. I found him on my visit next day remarkably
cheerful, and feeling a wonderful sense of relief I hurried
off to Malfatti to tell him of this occurrence, which he con-
siders a very favorable one. They intend to apply a hollow
probe for some time, so as to keep this wound open, and
allow the water to escape freely. May God bless these
human means!

" Beethoven is satisfied with the attendance and services
of his cook and housemaid. His and our friend, the well-
known and worthy Schindler, dines daily with h'm, and
manages for him in a very friendly, honest way. He also
looks after Beethoven's correspondence, and controls as far

* On the margin of the original letter we find the following remark
in Moscheles ' handwriting: — "I have, however, several proofs of the
interest and sympathy called forth in Vienna at that time by Beet-
hoven's dangerous illness. It is clear that several of his worshippers were
eager to offer liim help and consolation, if they could only get at him.
Access to Beethoven, or f.hose nearest to him, owing to his life oS is.>-
•aiion, was, however, a difficult matter."



BEETHO VEN'S RE LA TIVES.



103



as possible the expenditure of the household. I enclose
in my letter, dear friend, Beethoven's receipt for the 1000
florins presented to him. When I proposed to him to take
only 500 florins at first, and leave the remaining 500 in the
safe custody of Baron von Eskeles, until he wanted them,
he confessed candidly to me that the 1000 florins came to
him like a perfect godsend, for he was actually in the pain-
ful condition of being forced to borrow money. This being
so, I yielded to his earnest entreaty, and handed him over
the whole sum of 100/., or 1000 florins.

" Beethoven will tell you in his own letter how he
intends to show his gratitude to the Philharmonic Society.
If, in the course of events, you wish to be useful to him,
and I can give you a helping hand, you may rely upon my
hearty and zealous co-operation. The whole of the Eskeles
family desire their kindest remembrance to you, your wife
and little son, and in these I join.

*' Your sincere friend,

" Rau."

It is plain, from Moscheles' observation on the margin
of Rau's letter, and from notes in the diary, that he had
written to many friends at Vienna asking whether it could
be true that people neglected Beethoven, prostrated by sick-
ness, and in want, and that he received, in every instance, the
information that, owing to Bjethoven's repelling manner, and
his brother's and nephew's jealousy, friends had been kept
back from visiting him. " I doubt if they could have pre-
vented me," says Moscheles, and probably with good cause.

A very affecting letter from Beethoven himself, and one
over which many tears were shed, followed that of his
friend Rau. It was written on the 17th of March. Beet-
hoven dictated it to Schindler, and signed it with his own
hand.

*' Vienna, i8th March, 1827.

*• My dear good Moscheles, — The feelings with which
1 read your letter of the ist of March, I cannot describe in
words. The splendid generosity of the Philharmonic
Society, which well nigh anticipated my request, has moved
me to my inmost soul. I entreat vou, therefore, dear Mos-



I04



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



cheles, to be my spokesman and communicate to the Phil-
harmonic Society, my earnest, heartfelt thanks for the
sympathy and assistance they have rendered me. I was
compelled at once to call in the whole sum of looo florins,
as r was just reduced to the painful necessity of being
obliged to borrow money, and thus becoming further
involved. With regard to the concert which the Philhar-
monic Society have determined to give for my benefit, let
me beg of them not to abandon their generous project, but
to deduct from the gross receipts of that concert, the looc
florins now presented to me in advance. Should the
Society kindly allow me the surplus, I undertake to prove
my deep gratitude, either by writing for them a new
symphony, the sketch of which already lies in my desk, or
a new overture, or something else the Society may wish for.
May Heaven only soon restore me to health, and I will
prove to the noble hearted English how highly I appreciate
their sympathy with my sad fate. I shall never forget your
noble conduct, and hope soon to send a special letter of
thanks to Sir Smart and to Herr Stumpff. Farewell, with
sentiments of true friendship, I remain, with the greatest
esteem,

*' Your friend,

" LuDwiG VAN Beethoven.

" P. S. — My hearty greeting to your wife. I have to
thank the Philharmonic Society and you for a new friend in
Herr Rau. Pray give to the Philharmonic Society the
symphony marked by me with the metronome tempi ; these
i enclose."

Marking, according to the metronome of the Tempi in
Beethoven's last symphony, op. 125 : —

Allegro, ma non troppo, e un poco maestoso 88 = 1

Molto vivace 116 =f

Presto ir6 = 1^

Adagio molto e cantabile . . . 60 = 1

Andante moderato . , . . . 63 = 1

Finale presto . . . . , , 96 = f



BEETHOVEN'S LAST SYMPHONY.



Allegro, ma non troppo
Allegro assai
Alia marcia
Andante maestoso
Adagio divoto .
Allegro energico



Allegro,



ma non tanto
Prestissimo
Maestoso



80
84
72
60
84
120
132
60



105

I

I
I

r



We give a letter by Schindler, six days later in point of
date, but posted at the same time as Beethoven's : —

Vienna, 24th March, 1827.

" My dear Friend, — Don't let yourself be misled by
the difference of date between the two letters. I wished
purposely to keep back that of Beethoven for a few days,
because, on the day after it was written, we feared our great
master would breathe his last. God be thanked, however,
that event has not yet happened ; but, my dear Moscheles,
by the time you read these lines, our friend will be no
longer among the living. Death is advancing with rapid
strides, and there is but one wish among us all, to see him
soon released from these terrible sufferings ; nothing else
remains to be hoped for. He has been lying all but dead,
for the last eight days, and can only now and then muster
sufficient strength to put a question, or to ask for what he
wants. His condition is fearful, and appears by all ac-
counts to be very similar to that which was lately endured
by the Duke of York. He is in an almost constant state
of insensibility, or rather stupor — his head hanging down
on his chest, and his glazed eyes fixed for hours together upon
the same spot. He seldom recognizes his most intimate
friends, except when people tell him who is standing before
him. In fact it is dreadful to look at him. This state of
things, however, can only last a few days longer, for all the
bodily functions have ceased since yesterday. He, and we
with him, will therefore, please God, soon be released.



ro6 RFXENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

•' People come in shoals to see him for the last time,
althous^h none are admitted except those who are bold
enough to force their way into the dying man's room. The
letter to you, even to the few sentences at the introduction,
is, word for word, written at his dictation. I expect this
will be his last letter, although to-day he contrived to whis-
per to me in broken accents, ' Smart, Stumpff, write ; ' if
possible for him even yet to sign his name on the paper, it
shall be done. He feels his end approaching, for yester-
day he said to me and Herr von Breuning, 'Plaudite, amici,
comoedia finita est ! ' We were fortunate enough yesterday
to arrange everything respecting his last will, although
there is hardly anything left but some old furniture and
manuscripts. He had in hand a quintet for stringed in-
struments, and the tenth symphony, of which he makes
mention in his letter to you. Two movements of the
quintet are entirely finished, and it was intended for Dia-
belli. The day after the receipt of your letter he was
greatly excited, and talked to me a great deal of the plan
of the symphony, which was to have been on a grand scale,
as being written expressly for the Philharmonic Society.

" I much wish you had made plain in your letter that
Beethoven could only draw on this sum of looo florins by
instalments, for I had agreed with Herr Rau on this mat-
ter, but Beethoven adhered to the last sentence in your
letter. Well, with the receipt of the money all trouble and
anxiety at once vanished, and be said quite cheerfully,
' Now we shall be able to give ourselves a better day occa-
sionally,' for there were only 340 florins left in the drawer,
and we therefore restricted ourselves for some time past, to
beef and vegetables, a privation which grieved him more
than anything else. The next day being a Friday, he im-
mediately ordered his favorite dish of fish, but could merely
taste them. In short, his delight with the generosity of the
Philharmonic Society borders upon the childish. We
were obliged to procure him a great arm-chair, which cost
fifty florins ; he rests on it daily for half an hour at least
while his bed is being made. His obstinacy is as dreadful
as ever, and this falls particularly hard upon me, for on no
account will he have anybody about him but myself. I had
no alternative but to give up all my lessons, and devote to



DEA TH OF BEE THO VEN.



107



him every spare moment of time I could get. Everything
he eats or drinks I must taste first, to ascertain whether it
might not be injurious to him. Glad as I am to do all this,
it lasts too long for a poor devil like myself. I hope to
heaven, however, matters will right themselves if I continue
to keep in good health. Whatever remains of the 1000
florins we intend to expend on our friend Beethoven's fu-
neral which will be performed without much ceremony in the
churchyard at Dobling, a constant and favorite haunt of
Beethoven's. There is the rent due on the t3th of April,
that must be paid for another half-year. Then there are
several small debts (the doctor's fees among them), so that
the 1000 florins may just cover what is owing, without
leavina: much balance in hand.

"Two days after your letter we received one from the
worthy Mr. Stumpff, who speaks of you in terms of the
highest praise. The reading of this letter excited Beet-
hoven rather too much, for he was fearfully reduced and
weakened. We heard him to-day say repeatedly, ' May
God requite them all a thousand tiaies.'

*• You can well understand that the generosity of the Phil-
harmonic Society has created a general sensation here. The
English are praised up to the skies, and the Viennese mil-
lionaires loudly abused. The Beobachter has an article on
the subject, and so has the Wiener Zeitung. 1 enclose
them. — Jnterval of some hours.) — I have just left Beet-
hoven : he is actually dying, and before this letter is beyond
the precincts of the city the great light will be extinguished
lor ever. He is still, however, in full possession of his
senses. I hasten to dispatch my letter, in order to run to
his bedside. The enclosed lock of hair 1 have just cut
from his head, and send it you. God be with you !
" Your most devoted Friend,

"Ant. Schindler."

A few days later a letter from Rau brought the sad tid-
ings of Beethoven's death.

" Vienna, March 28tli, 1827.
" Dear Friend, — Beethoven is no more ; he expired on



1 08 J^E CEN- T M USIC A ND M U SI CI A NS.

the evening of the 26th of March, between five and six
o'clock, after a painful struggle and terrible suffering. On
the day before he died all consciousness had completely
gone.

'' I must say a word about the property he has left be-
hind him. In my last letter I told you that Beethoven, ac-
cording to his own statement, was absolutely without money
or resources, consequently in the greatest need, and yet,
when an inventory of his things was taken in my presence,
we found, in an old half-mouldy box, seven Bank shares.

" Whether Beethoven purposely concealed them (for he
was very mistrustful, and looked hopefully for a speedy re-
covery), or whether their possession had escaped his own
memory, is a problem I cannot venture to solve. The
thousand florins sent over by the Philharmonic Society were
found still untouched : I laid claim to the money in con-
formity with your instructions, and was obhged to deposit it
with the magistrate until further notice from the Philhar-
monic Society. I would not consent to the funeral expenses
being paid out of this money without being authorized by
the Society so to act. Should you have it in your power to
dispose of any part of the money, pray let it be done in
favor of the two poor servants who nursed the sufferer with
endless patience and devotion. There is not a syllable
about them in the will. Everything goes to the sole heir,
Beethoven's nephew. As to the present which Beethoven
intended sending to the Philharmonic Society, Herr Schind-
ler will communicate with you in due time. Let me know
soon, and definitely, what steps I am to take, and you may
rely on me for strictly carrying out your intentions. Beet-
hoven will be buried on the 29th of this month. An invi-
tation has been sent to all artists, members of the different
orchestras, and theatres. Tv/enty musicians and composers
will act as torchbearers at the funeral. Grillparzer has
written a very affecting address to be spoken by Anschiitz at
the grave. Indeed everything which can be done to render
the solemnity worthy of the deceased, seems to be in
preparation.

'' The family of Eskeles joins me in kindest remem-
brances to you and yours.

" Your friend,

" Rau."



INVITATION TO BEETHOVEN'S FUNERAL.



109



We find among Moscheles' papers several relating to
Beethoven's death :



INVITATION

TO

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN'S FUNERAL,

Which will take place on the 29tli March, at 3 o'clock
in the afternoon.



The company will assemble at the lodgings of the deceased, in
the Schwarz-spanier House, No. 200 on the Glacis, before the
Schottenthor.

The procession starts from that point to the Trinity Church, at
the Father's Minorites in the Alser Street.



The musical world sustained the irreparable loss of the famous
composer about six o'clock in the evening, on the 26th March, 1827.

Beethoven died of dropsy, in the 56th year of his age, after re-
ceiving the Holy Sacraments.

Due notice of the day, " der Exequien," will hereafter be made
known by L. VAN Beethoven's

ADMIRERS AND FRIENDS.

(The distribution of these cards is at the music establishment
of Tob. Haslinger.)



BEY LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN'S LEICHENBEGANGNISS.
{am 29 Mclrz 1827).
Von J. F. Castelu.

Achtung alien Thranen, welche fliessen,

Wenn ein bravej- Mann zu Grabe ging,
Wenn die Freunde Trauerreihen schliessen,

Die der Selige mit Lieb' umfing.



I lo RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS,

Doch der Trauerzug, der lieute walk-.,
Strecket sich, so weit das Himmelszelt

Eld' umspannt, so \\ eit ein Ton erschallet,
Und um diesen Todten weint die Welt.

Doch um Euch allein nur mlisst Ihr klagen I—
Wer so hoch in Heiligthume stand,

Kann den Staub nicht mehr — er ihn nicht tragen,
Und der Geist sehnt sich in's Heimathland.

Darum rief die Muse ihn nach oben,

Und an ihrer Seite sitzt er dort,
Und an ihrem Throne hort er droben

Tonen seinen eigenen Accord.

Aber hier sein Angedenken weilet,

Und sein Name lebt im Ruhmes-Licht,

Wer, wie er, der Zeit ist vorgeeilet,
Den ereilt die Zeit zerstorend nicht.



AT BEETHOVEN'S FUNERAL.

Ev'ry tear that is shed by the mourner is holy ;

When the dust of the mighty to earth is resigned.
When those he held dearest move sadly and slowly

To the grave of the friend in whose heart they were shrined;

But our grief-stricken train is a wild sea that surges.

That spreads to yon starry pavilion o'erhead
And girdles the globe : for all nature sings dirges.

Where'er rings an echo, to-day o'er the dead.

But weep not for him : for yourselves sorrow only :
Though proud was his place in the hierarchy here,

This earth might not hold him ; his spirit was lonely,
And yearned for a home in a loftier sphere.

So Heaven to the minstrel its portals uncloses :
The Muse thither calls him, to sit by her side

And hear, from the throne where in bliss she reposes.
His own hallow'd harmonies float far and wide.

Yet here, in our memories homed, he abideth ;

Round his name lives a glory that ne'er may grow dim ;
Time fain would o'ertake him, but Time he derideth ;

The grisly Destroyer is distanced by him,



POEMS OA' BEE TH OVEN'S DEA TH. \ \ j

AM GRABE BEETHOVEN'S.

{dai 29 Miirz 1827).

Es brach ein Quell vom hohen Felsen nieder,

Mit reicher Stromung iiber Wald und Flur.
Und wo ei- floss, eistand das Leben wieder,

Verjiingte sich die alternde Natur.
Ein jeder kam zur reitzgeschmiickten Stelle,

Und suchte sich Erquickung an der Welle.

Nur wenige von richtigem G^fiihle,

Empfanden seine Wunderkrafte ganz,
Die tibrigen erfreuten sich am Spiele

Der schonen Fluth und ihrem Demantglanz .
Die meisten aber fanden sein Gewasser

Dem Andern gieich, nicht edler und nicht besser,

Der Quell versank. Nun erst erkannte Jeder

Des Bornes Kraft, nun erst, da sie zerstob !
Und Pinsel, Klang, der Meissel und die Feder,

Vereinten sich zum itingst verdienten Lob ;
Jedoch kein Lied, nicht Schnsucht, nicht die Klage

Erweckten ihn und brachten ihn zu Tage,

Du, der hier liegt, befreyt von Schmerz und Banden,
Du warst der Quell, den ich zuvor genannt !

Du grosser Mensch, von Wenigen verstanden,
Bewundert oft, doch ofter noch verkannt !

Jetzt werden Alle jubelnd Dich erheben :
Du musstest sterben, sterben, um zu leben !

SCHLECHTA.



AT BEETHOVEN'S GRAVE.

From the high rock I marked a fountain breaking ;

It poured its riches forth o'er glade and plain ;
Where'er they streamed I saw new life awaking.

The grandam world was in her prime again ;
To the charm'd spot the tribes of earth came thronging,
And stoopt to that pure wave with eager longing.

Yet of these hosts few only, keener-sighted
Than were their fellows, all its glamor knew :

The simple multitude surveyed, delighted.
Its diamond glitter and its changing hue ;

But — save unto those few that saw more clearly—

That wondrous fountain was a fountain merely.



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

At last its source dried up, its torrent dwindled;

And all mankind discerned its virtue then :
In minstrels' breasts and bards' a fire was kindled.

And brush ?.nd chisel vied with harp and pen :
But wild desire, and minstrelsy, and wailing
To call it back to life were unavailing.



Thou who sleep'st here, thy toil, thy bondage ended !

Lo ! in that fountain's tale is told thine own.
Marvelled at oft, more oft misapprehended,

By the few only thou wast truly known.
All shall exalt tliee, now that low thou liest ;
That thou mayst live, O deathless one, thou diest



The following letters from Schindler, Rau, and others,
although giving some further details about Beethoven's
death, turn chiefly on the subject of the loo/. presented by
the Philharmonic Society, a matter which gave rise to all
sorts of discussion, without coming to any really satisfactory
conclusion. Schindler writes : —

" Vienna, April 4th, 1827.

" My dear Friend, — I find myself induced to write to
you once more, and thus to insure the safety of the letter I
enclose for Sir Smart. It contains Beethoven's last ex-
pression of thanks to Smart, Stumpff, the Philharmonic
Society, and to the whole English nation. Beethoven
during the last moments of his life, urged me most earnestly
to carry out his wishes about this letter. Let me entreai
you, therefore, to give Sir Smart the letter as soon as possi-
ble ; Mr. Lewisey, of the English Embassy, has had the
kindness to translate it into English.

" On the 26th of March, at a quarter to six o'clock in
the evening, during a heavy thunderstorm, our immortal
friend breathed his last. From the evening of the 24th
until he died, he was almost constantly in a delirious state ;
but whenever he had a moment of relief, he remembered
the kindness shown him by the Philharmonic Society, and
praised the constant friendliness of the English nation.

" His sufferings are not to be described, especially from



BEE THO VEN'S FUNERAL.



113



the moment when the wound gave way, occasioning^ a fearful
drain on the system. His deathbed was remarkable for the
magnanimity and Socratic wisdom with which he prepared
to meet his doom. I shall probably publish an account
of his death ; it would be of rare value to his biographers.

"Beethoven's funeral was, as in justice it should be,
that of a great man. Some 30,000 persons crowded on the
glacis, and surged through the streets where the procession
was to pass. I cannot describe the scene. If you remem-
ber the fete in the Prater, on the occasion of the Congress
in the year 1814, you will have some idea of it. Eight
Kapellmeisters were pall-bearers, among them Eibler,
Weigl, Gyrowetz, Hummel, Seyfried, etc. There were
sixty -and-thirty torchbearers, among them Grillparzer, Cas-
telli, Haslinger, Steiner, Schubert, etc.

"Yesterday Mozart's Requiem was performed as a
commemorative service in the St. Augustine Church. The
church, although a large one, could not contain the crowd
that thronged there. Lablache sang the bass part. The
leading publishers of Vienna suggested this service.

"You have Beethoven's last letter, that of the i8th of
March, and Schott in Mainz has his last signature.

" With regard to his personalty, seven Bank shares,
and several hundred gulden have been found, and now the
Viennese talk and write about Beethoven's having had no
need of aid from a foreign nation, etc., without reflecting
that Beethoven, old and powerless at the age of 56, could
make the same claims as if he had been a man of 70. If he
had ceased working for years, as the doctors told him he must,
he would certainly have been forced to sell one share after
the other, and for how many years, think you, could he
have lived on the proceeds of these shares, without falling
into the greatest distress? In short, dear friend, I and
Herr Hofrath von Breuning beg of you earnestly, in the
event of such monstrous reports reaching England, to ap-
pease the manes of Beethoven, by publishing in one of the
most largely circulated German newspapers, such as the
An^sburger AlcgjmHne Zeltimg^ the letters that you have of
Beethoven's upon the subject ; the Philharmonic Society
might do this on its own account, and thus silence these
scribblers at once.



114



RECEXT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



"The Philharmonic Society has the honor of having
defrayed the expenses of the great man's funeral ; without
their help, this certainly could not have been done in a
suitable manner.

" The universal cry was, * What a shame for Austria !
This mustn't go further, for everybody will contribute his
share ! ' but with this outcry the matter ended. The Musik-
Verein determined, the day after the funeral, to have a Re-
quiem performed in Beethoven's memory, and that was all.
But we people of the Kirntnerthor, intend to get up a grand
concert in April, and raise a sum for a handsome monument.

" I have further to inform you that the sexton of Wah-
ring, where Beethoven lies buried, was with us yesterday,
and showed us a letter in which he was offered looo florins
if he would deposit Beethoven's head at a certain spot.
This stirred the police to active inquiries. The funeral cost
a trifle over 300 florins ; our friend Rau will have written to
you about it. Should the Philharmonic Society wish to
leave the rest of the money here, allowing me, for instance,
to appropriate a small sum to my own use, I should regard
it as a legacy from my friend Beethoven. I don't possess
the smallest trifle to remind me of him, and in this respect
I fare the same as others, for his death was a surprise to him
and to all of us around him.

" Do write me a few lines, and say if you have received
the letters of the 22d February, the 14th and the i8th of
March ; and let me know, too, if Sir Smart has also had his.
Beethoven's relations, when his death was imminent, be-
haved in the meanest way ; he was still breathing when his
brother came and wanted to carry off everything, even the
1000 florins sent from London, but we turned him out of
doors. Such were the scenes enacted by the side of Beet-
hoven's deathbed. Call the attention of the Philharmonic
Society to the gold medal of Louis XVII L ; it weighs fifty
ducats, and would be a noble reminder of that great man. —
Adieu.

" A. SCHINDLER.

" Hummel plays to-morrow in the Karntnerthor Theatre.
Mr. Lewisey begs to be remembered to Mr. Neate."



COMMENTS ON THE VIENNESE. 115

Another letter was received from Schindler shortly
afterwards : —

Vienna, April llth, 1827.

" My dear Friend, — You will be shocked at the quan-
tity and length of my letters, but read and believe if you
can ! To save your honor, that of our friend Beethoven, and
of the Philharmonic Society, there was nothing left to us,
but to put you in possession of every detail. You heard in
my last letter, that there is a great deal of talk as well as
public comment on the generous conduct of tiie Society.
But the Allgemeine Zeitwig contains an article of the most
offensive character to every one, so much so, that we have
thought it our duty to answer it through Holfrath Breuning,
who undertook to write the enclosed truthful account, which
Pilat will send this very day to the editor of the Allgemeine
Zeitung. Although you have never seen the original article
in the Allgemeine Zeitung, on reading our answer you will at
once guess its object and general purport What you and
Smart have further to do, is to publish in the Allgemeine
Zeitung your letters as well, so that these wretched scribblers
may be thoroughly humiliated. Rau and Pilat think our
article too courteous, but neither Breuning nor I dare come
out with the whole truth, although we should like to do so,
and think the disclosure due to the world. Apart from the
fact of my having already, as Beethoven's friend and cham-
pion, made myself many enemies, I think it would be base
conduct, were 1 to remain silent when his memory is slan-
dered, now that he is dead and buried, and his well-intention-
ed friends are publicly attacked, and their generous efforts
misinterpreted.

"I wrote to you lately that the Philharmonic Society
should enter the lists by publishing in its own name the
letters to yourself and Smart ; we are all of this opinion.
The Philharmonic Society should state what is perfectly
well known in London, that Beethoven, after his first con-
cert in the Kilrntnerthor Theatre, two years ago, after
deducting all expenses, which came to 1000 florins, and
paying the managers for the hire of the theatre, had only
300 florins of clear profit, not a single subscriber paying a



1 1 6 RE CEN T M USIC A ND M U SI CI A NS,

farthing for his box ; not even did the Court appear at the
concert, although Beethoven, by my advice, gave a personal
invitation to every member of the Imperial household.
Every one promised to come, and not only in every instance
failed to redeem that promise, but never sent Beethoven
the smallest contribution, a present of some sort being the
invariable rule, even at the benefits of ordinary concert-
givers.

" At his second concert, given at the Redoutensaal, in
the same month, the committee, who undertook the man-
agement on their own account, were obhged to pay 300
florins out of their own pockets; and I had the greatest
difficulty in preventing Beethoven from making up the
deficit out of the 500 florins guaranteed to him for his
services on the occasion. It gave him the greatest pain to
feel that the committee lost money on his account.

•' When the subscription was started for his last Grand
Mass, not a soul at Vienna, no, not even the Court, would
subscribe, and there were other countless insults and
humiliations that poor Beethoven was obliged to endure.
Now is the best opportunity of making all these things
known. All Vienna knew that Beethoven had been lying
on a sick-bed for two or three months, and no one took
the trouble to inquire into his state of health and circum-
stances. With such sad experiences of Vienna, could he
be expected to look for help here.? I declare to Heaven
that had not the Philharmonic Society, by its generosity,
aroused the Viennese from their inaction, Beethoven would
have died and been buried like Haydn, who was followed
to the grave by fifteen persons.

" As to the concert to be given by the collected forces
of our theatre for raising a monument, matters stand thus :
' Norma,' which was to have been given after Easter, has
been fixed for this week, so we lose our evening by this
extra opera night. An afternoon concert Weigl thinks un-
favorably of, and proposes its postponement until next
autumn. But by that time, what little zeal there is will have
completely cooled, and no one will think of doing anything
more in the matter.

" I cannot help telling you about the conduct of the
medical men. At the very beginning of his illness. Beet-



BEE TIIO VEN'S MEDICAL ADT/SEA'S. j j y

hoven asked the doctors he had formerly consulted to
attend him. Dr. Braunhofer excused himself on the plea
of his being too far from the house. Dr. Staudenheim,
after three days' solicitation, came at last, and retired after
one professional visit. The consequence of this was that
Beethoven had to trust himself to the care of a professor in
the general hospital, whose services he obtained in a very
singular way. Gehringer, the proprietor of a coffee-house
in the Kohlmarkt, happened to have a sick servant whom
he wished to place under the care of this practitioner. He
therefore wrote to Professor Wawruch, asking him to re-
ceive the patient, and requesting him, at the same time, to
visit Beethoven, who was in want of medical aid. Con-
siderable time elapsed before I ascertained that Beethoven's
amiable nephew Karl, while playing one day at billiards in
this coffee-house, entrusted the proprietor with this com-
mission. The professor knew neither Beethoven nor his
constitution, treated him in his regular routine fashion,
prescribing for him, during the first four weeks of his illness,
seventy-two bottles of medicine, often three different sorts
in one day, so that, as early as the ist day of January, the
patient was more dead than alive. At last I could not
look any longer on this gross mismanagement, and went
off straight to Dr. Malfatti, formerly Beethoven's friend.
He required a great deal of persuasion, and when Beet-
hoven himself implored him, most earnestly at the first
consultation, to attend him professionally, Malfatti replied
he could not, out of respect for the other doctor, and came
at most once or twice a week to the consultation. During
the last week, however, he came daily. In short, to you, I
can and will say it ; Beethoven might have lived ten years
longer, had he not been sacrificed to the most contemptible
meanness and ignorance of others. All these matters will
be more fully explained at a later period.

" Hummel went back again to Weimar on the 9th. His
wife and his pupil, a Mr. Hiller, from Frankfort, were with
him here. The latter sends you his kind remembrances^
and so does Hummel. The expenses of the funeral are
now nearly settled, and amount to 330 fiorins.

" I might tell you a great deal more, but I must con-
clude. Our friend, Lewinger, sends both of you his kind



I 1 8 RE CEN T M USIC A ND M U SI CI A A'S.

remembrances. He is so kind as to send this letter by
Rothschild. Rau also desires to be remembered. Write
to us soon. Say everything that is kind for me to Herr
Stumpff, and tell him that it was Beethoven's intention to
dedicate to him one of his newest works. This shall be
done,, if we can only find some one work that is completed.
A kind farewell from

" Your old friend,

" SCHINDLER."

After a few months Rau writes to Moscheles on this
matter : — •

"Vienna, June 17, 1827,

" Do not accuse me of neglect, dear friend, because I
have left you so long without information respecting the
state of Beethoven's affairs. L told you already that I put
in a claim to the looo florins sent by the Philharmonic
Society before he died. Herr Hofrath Breuning, the execu-
tor of the will, could and dared not take any steps in the
matter, until Beethoven's creditors had been publicly sum-
moned in the usual way. They met on the 5th of June.
By the advice of Herr Baron v. Eskeles, I sent a legal friend
of mine to the meeting, desiring him to renew my claim, but
the ' Masse-Curator,' Dr. Bach, steadily opposed it. So in
order to expedite matters, and bring them to a successful
issue, I want a power of attorney from the Philharmonic
Society which, duly proved at the Austrian Emb?issy, may
confer on me full powers to demand back, by legal process,
the 1000 florins, and to appoint a legal friend to settle this
business. I propose Dr. Eltz as a fitting person.

" After the meeting I went off to Dr. Bach, to talk over
the matter confidentially, for I could not understand the
difficulties which people thrust in the way of this righteous
demand. He answered me honestly and openly that it was
his duty, acting on behalf of the nephew, still a minor, to
dispute every counter-claim that interfered with that neph-
ew's interests. But his opinion was that a lawsuit, and its
heavy attendant expenses, would be best avoided if the
Philharmonic Society would generously be induced to con-



BEE THO VEN' S MS. MEMO R A NDA . ng

sider this sum as a contribution to Beethoven's monument,
the remainder to be lodged in the house of Eskeles or Roth-
schild for remittance back to the Society. Under this sup-
position, Dr. Bach would do his best to further this remit-
tance. Baron Eskeles, and many experienced jurists, glad-
ly entertain this scheme, especially as, since Beethoven's
death, one of our most important witnesses, I mean Hofrath
von Breuning, has also died. This excellent man caught
cold while a r tending the sale of Beethoven's property by
auction, and died after three days. He was the single wit-
ness who could identify the looo florins as the same that
were sent over by the Society. We shall be guided by
your next letter as to our future conduct in this affair.

"The Eskeles and Wimpffens, one and all, join with me
in kind regards to you and your wife.

" Your friend,

" Rau."

Vienna, Sept. 14th, 1827.

" My dearest Friend, — By the kindness of Mr. Levi-
sey, bearer of dispatches to the English Government, 1
seize the opportunity of writing and forwarding you the
enclosed souvenir of our friend Beethoven. In your last
letter you wished for a manuscript of some well-known com-
position of the great master. Here then is the last part of
the scherzo of his last Symphony, and along with it one
of those remarkable jDOcket-books in which Beethoven, while
out walking, used to jot down his ideas, working them up,
on his return home, from these skeleton sketches into his
full score. I was so fortunate as to rescue several of them,
and to me they are of the deepest interest, but they are
scarcely intelligible to any but those who can trace the full
flower in the germ before them. The book I send contains
sketches for one of his last quartets ; and should you ever
hear any of these you will see by some of the passages
written down at full length to which quartet they belong.
I believe I cannot better prove to you my friendship than
by sending you this relic, the first and only one I shall ever
part with — unless a large sum of money be offered. Lew«
inger tells me he has already sent you Beethoven's portrait.



120 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

I only hope it is that in which he is lithographed writing,
for that is the best ; all the others are bad. On the sheet
of paper before him are the words ' Missa Solemnis.' 1
wanted to send everything to you by Mr. Clementi, whose
acquaintance I made in London, but I missed him before
he left, and had not heard of his intended departure.

" Pixis came here from Paris, for a fortnight, and re-
turned yesterday, travelling by way of Prague. Spontini,
too, has left us. He is beating up recruits, and gave my
sister an engagement. She and I may go together next
spring to Berlin, as the Kiirntnerthor Theatre will probably
be closed again. This at all events is certain, that Barba-
ja's management ends next April. What will happen after-
wards is an open question. People talk confidently of
Madame Pasta coming here for the next winter. I should
exceedingly like to hear the real truth from you. You can
easily find it out for me ; I should be glad, for my sister's
sake, that she should see and hear such an artiste. Per-
haps you would enclose a note for me in a letter to Lew-
inger or Rau, and give me information on this subject. I
should like, too, to have an acknowledgment of the receipt
of these papers, sketches, etc. Tell me how you are, and
all your belongings.

" The Beethoven business proceeds very slowly ; we are
met by so many obstacles. In June that most amiable man,
Hofrath von Breuning, died ; and now the ' curator ' has
been laid up for the last six weeks. I am only anxious to
know what is to be done with the money sent from England.
The tombstone is to be placed very shortly. Piringer and
others have ordered it. I have heard nothing, seen nothing
of it, for everything is done secretly, probably that they may
have the sole credit. At Prague, Herr Schlosser has pub-
lished a most wretched biography of Beethoven. Here, too,
a subscription is circulating for another ' life,' which, I hear
will be compiled by Herr GratTer, although the biographer,
selected by Beethoven himself, is Hofrath Rochlitz, of Leip-
zig, to whom, by Beethoven's desire, Breuning and I had to
deliver very important papers. The newly-appointed guard-
ian of Beethoven's nephew has handed ovd^ Breuning's papers
to Herr Griiffer. This was very bad conduct, but no harm
is done, for the papers were for the most part connected



LIFE OF MOSCHELES. 1 2 1

with the family history, and I have the most important still
in ray own custody. God bless you !

" Your very sincere and obliged friend,

"Ant. Schindler."

The business in which Moscheles found himself involved
by the death of the great Beethoven, and the service he
had rendered him, could not be brought to a satisfactory
conclusion at once, as the following letter proves : —

" Vienna, Feb. loth, 1S28.

" To Herr Tgnaz Moscheles, Composer of Music, and Member of
the Philharmonic Society of London.

" Most respected Sir, — After the death of Herr von
Breuning, which took place in Vienna on the 4th of June
1827, I was appointed by the proper authority in that city
the legal guardian of Karl von Beethoven, a minor, the
nephew and heir of the composer Ludwig von Beethoven,
who died — alas I prematurely for the world of art — on the
26th of March last year. I undertook this heavy responsi-
bility solely for the purpose of trying to lead this highly-
gifted youth back to the paths of virtue, from which (I say
it with sorrow) he has to some extent strayed. I did it for
the sake of his great uncle, who had befriended him since
his childhood, although he had not always availed himself
of the most discreet means to insure his welfare. I have
yet another reason. The young man has expressed 'great
confidence in me, and has conducted himself with the strict-
est propriety since he entered upon the military profession
as a cadet in an infantry regiment.

"Judging by the legal documents before me, Beethoven's
small fortune (after deducting sums for payment of some
heavy debts, expenses of his illness, and funeral) consists of
little more than 8000 florins in Austrian paper-money. I am
on the point of negotiating the legal registration of this
property, for according to the terms of the will my ward is
only to enjoy a life-interest in the property, while the capital
reverts to his heirs, unless otherwise appointed by will, to
whom the property will be legally secured.
6



122 ^^ CEN T M USIC AND M U SI CI A NS.

*' In addition to several other debts legally registered
and publicly announced at the general meeting of Lud-
wig von Beethoven's creditors, there is a further claim
for looo florins, Austrian money, preferred by the advocate,
Dr. Eltz of Vienna, as the representative and nominee of
your friend Herr Rau ; he is also empowered to act for the
Philharmonic Society of London. This sum is said to be
identified as the money sent some time since, during Beet-
hoven's life-time, as a present in the shape of pecuniary aid,
by the Philharmonic Society of London.

" As it is necessary before the legal settlement of the
testator's property to prove that this claim on behalf of Dr.
Eltz has been either settled or withdrawn, and as I, acting
as guardian, am most anxious to arrange this business as
soon as possible, I write to you, sir, as one of Beethoven's
most intimate and respected friends, as the representative
of that high-minded body, the Philharmonic Society of
London, and as one of ourselves whom we delight to honor,
although living far from us ; lastly, in the name of a youth
full of talent and promise, who when his uncle died lost his
sole support, and is left destitute. May I beg of you, sir,
to take the necessary steps that the Society may generously
withdraw their clami, even assuming it to be a perfectly
righteous one, through Herr Rau, and his representative
Dr. Eltz ; and that they empower Herr Rau to notify this
withdrawal of claim to the proper authorities.

" I am deeply and solely concerned for the welfare of
this most promising youth, who by the death of his uncle,
Lu:Kvig von Bc^ethoven, who idolized him, has lost his only
support. I address myself very confidently to the gene-
rous Philharmonic Society, trusting they will not ask the
return of the sum given to assist Beethoven — money pre-
sented so long ago that it is impossible to say that the
identical sum still exists. I would further request them,
through you, not to curtail the small sum with which I am
to maintain my ward, for I can hardly hope to get more
than 400 florins in the shape of yearly interest. According
to the accounts, more than 1000 florins have been expended
in defraying the expenses of the testator's illness and
funeral, besides paying oiier debts ; so that it will be fully
believed fhat I feel great difficulty in securing my ward



CLAIMS OF BEETHOVEN'S NEPHEW.



123



from want, until he is fortunate enough to get his com-
mission as an officer — a position which, in the absence of
other support, would actually leave him still in embarrassed
circumstances.

" For these reasons, sir, I shall be excused in express-
ing a hope that the Society, and the old friends and admir-
ers of Beethoven, will show their honor to his memory by
befriending the nephew who sorely needs their assistance.
I venture to offer my services, and bind myself to invest
any sum as advantageously as I can.

" I cannot bring myself to think that the Philharmonic
Society would ever persist in enforcing their claim ; nor,
if it came to a question of law. do I doubt for a moment
the Jud^e would give a decision in favor of the heir, but
still the law expenses and the delay would seriously em-
barrass me. The sum left is so small, and I have got to
pay law expenses, legacy duties, etc.

" Finally, I think I can explain to the Society the rea-
son why Ludwig von Beethoven complained of poverty
before his death, and asked their assistance. He consid-
ered his nephew as his sen and ward, and thought it his
duty to provide for his support. This feeling may con-
fidently be asserted to have prompted him to look on the
seven shares of the Austrian National Bank, not as his own
property, but as that of his favorite nephew, for whose sup-
port he destined them in his will. Il was a matter of
religious feeling with him, and he adhered to it loyally, that
the burden of maintaining his poor nephew, for whom he
would have sacrificed his own life, imposed on him such a
duty.

"I may safely say that the noblest sacrifice to the manes
of Beethoven, and the fulfilment of his dearest wish, for
which he toiled throughout all his life, would be the secur-
ing of his poor nephew from want. Were I myself blessed
with a fortune, and had not duties to my own relatives, I
would willingly devote it to him.

" 1 trust, sir, you will recognize the honesty and purity
of intention with which I write lo you, and will excuse me
the more readily as 1 can assure you that I have, out of
pure affection for the nephew of the great man, undertaken
the duties and care of a guardian. On this point, and for



124 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

references to my personal character, M. Rau will give you
all the information you can wish.

" Hoping that 1 shall soon receive a kind and favorable
reply, sent to me direct, or through M. Rau, and com-
mending myself and the cause of my ward to your kind
consideration,

" I remain, Sir, with great respect,

" Your most humble servant,

"Jacob Hotschebar.

" Imperial Hofconcipist."
Rau also wrote as follows : —

** Vienna, Feb. lOth, 1828.

" Dear Friend, — I send you herewith a letter from the
administrator of Beethoven's property, by which you will
see that the legal proceedings are drawing to an end. I
was called on to give an official explanation about the 1000
florins presented by the Philharmonic Society ; but not hav-
in.s: received further instructions from you, and being un-
willing without them to make myself responsible, I asked
for a delay, until T heard your wishes on the matter. The
enclosed letter will put you in possession of all the facts.

" Between ourselves, if you can manage to negotiate the
surrender of the 1000 florins, we shall be spared much un-
pleasantness, and perhaps a lawsuit. Even Dr. Eltz and
Baron Eskeles think that the 1000 florins found at Beet-
hoven's death would with great difficulty be identified, as
Hofrath Breuning, who managed the inventory, is now dead.
Should the money, however, be unexpectedly redemanded,
a power of attorney must be sent to Dr. Eltz by the Phil-
harmonic Society, in order that he may prove his legal
claims at the cost of the Society. The legal process might
possibly swallow up the entire sum. Pray give me a speedy
and definite answer. The Eskeles, Wimpffens, Ephraims,
etc., are well, and join me in kind remembrance to you and
your wife. — Your friend,

*' Rau."

On receipt of this note, Moscheles conferred with the



PHIL HA R MO NIC SO CIE T V S CLA IM A BA ND ON ED. 1 2 5

Directors of the Philharmonic Society, and induced them to
abandon altogether their claim to the money, but the whole
business and the comments thereon gave him a great deal
of annoyance and trouble. Reports came to England from
Vienna, where people were naturally ashamed of Beethoven's
having had to look to London for assistance, stating that
Beethoven, after all, had not been so badly off, that he had
not touched the 100/., and besides that he had left some
Bank shares ; how could Moscheles have been bold enough
to open a subscription for him in London, or the Philhar-
monic Society have veJitu7'ed to force itself upon out Beethoven
with their present? Moscheles personall}'" was profoundly
indifferent to such insinuations ; it was enough for him to
have been called ' friend ' by Beethoven himself, and to
have lightened, in however humble a way, the sufferings of
his latter days. Still it was due to Beethoven's memory, as
well as to the Philharmonic Society, to see that the truth
was properly stated, and thus to silence malignant and en-
vious tongues. He therefore made a public statement,
which went the round of the newspapers. The lock of Beet-
hoven's hair, the sketches in his own hand, the metronome
tempi of the 9th Symphony, and the sketch-book which
Schindler sent him, were always kept and regarded as the
most sacred relics, and are now in the possession of his son
Felix.

We here insert a letter of Beethoven's which, although
unconnected with the preceding correspondence, is of inter-
est to the student of his works ; it is from the collection of
autographs in the possession of the late Consul-General
Clauss of Leipzig.

" To Mr. Joseph von Warena, in Griitz.

*' Honored Sir, — Rode was perfectly correct in every-
thing he said about me. My health is none of the best, and
v.ithout any fault of my own, my condition in other respects
is perhaps the most unfavorable I have ever experienced ;
that, however, and nothing in the world shall prevent me
from helping as far as possible, by such small work as I can
offer, your Convent ladies, who, like myself, are suffering
from no fault of their own.



126 RE CEN T M USIC A ND M U SI CI A N S.

"Tsvo corapletel}' new symphonies therefore are entirely
at your service, an air for a bass voice with chorus, several
isolated small choruses, and if you want the overture to
' Ungarns Wohlthater" (overture to King Stephen, Hunga-
ry's benefactor), which you performed last year, this is at
your service as well.

"The Overture to 'The Ruins of Athens,' although in
rather a small style, is also at your disposal. Among others
there is a Dervish chorus, a good signboard for a motley
audience (ein gutes Aushangeschild fur ein gemischtes
Publikum). In my opinion you would do wisely to choose
a day when you could give the oratorio of " Christ on the
Mount of Olwes." Since 1 wrote it, it has been performed
everywhere. This would make up the half of a concert ;
for the second half you might give a new symphony, the
overtures, and several choruses, and also the above-men-
tioned bass air with chorus. Thus the evening would not
lack variety. Still you had best talk over this matter with,
and be advised by, the local musical authorities. With re-
gard to what you say respecting my remuneration at the
hands of a third person, I believe I can guess to whom you
allude j were I in my former position, well, I would say
straightforwardly ' Beethoven never takes a farthing where
humanity is to be benefited,' but just at present I am so cir-
cumstanced by my large charities (a state of things I have
no reason to be ashamed of), and by other matters arising
from the conduct of men destitute of honor and good faith,
that I tell you plainly I shall not refuse my share, if offered
to me by a person who can well afford it. The question
here is not one of claims, but should the whole business
about this third person come to nothing, be assured that I
am even now just as ready as I was last year, without the
smallest recompense, to do any good turn to my friends,
the respected "ladies of the Convent, and that I shall be
ready to assist suffering humanity as long as I breathe.

" And now farewell ; write soon, and I shall most zeal-
ously look after everything that is required. My best wishes
for the Convent, with great respect,
" Your friend,

" J.UDWIG VAN Beethoven."



DINNER GIVEN TO CLE MEN TI. 127

The programmes of the Philharmonic Concerts of this
season bear witness to the respect paid to Beethoven's mem-
ory and that of other German composers, since their master-
pieces were to be met with in every programme. Liszt and
Moscheles appeared as solo performers, and the best sing-
ers were constantly heard. The programme was often com-
posed of the masterpieces of Handel, Haydn, and Mozart.
Among the vocalists we read of Madame Stockhausen, who
had already become a favorite with the public ; her unpre-
tentiousness and earnestness made her a model to every
young aspirant in the profession. Her voice was lovely,
bell-like, and exquisitely flexible. She had created a furore
in the salons of Paris with her native Swiss melodies, but
devoted her best energies to serious study. When she came
to London in search of engagements, a soprano was wanted
for oratorios, and Sir George Smart, who at once recognized
her talents, offered to study with her the English text, with
a view to correct accent and pronunciation. This kind and
able man offered to instruct Madame Stockhausen in the
traditional method of singing in HandeFs oratorios; with-
out his aid her success in England must have remained
doubtful. Sir George soon found that his gifted pupil prof-
ited by his teaching, and she became an indispensable sup-
port for the London as well as the great provincial music-
festivals. Her fame steadily increased, but she continued
as amiable and unpretending as before, and with all her
grand performances in oratorios, condescended to charm her
audiences with her light Swiss melodies.

We read in the diary, " We artists gave a dinner and
musical entertainment to old Clementi. Cramer and I
received him ; he was greeted with rounds of applause, and
ninety of us sat down with him to dinner. He was placed
between Sir G. Smart and myself, and when the cloth was
removed we had speeches, toasts, and music. Of course a
wish was expressed and rapturously applauded, that Cle-
menti, the father of pianoforte playing, should be heard on
this occasion, and thus prove his right to the title. Cle-
menti rose from his chair ; Smart, Cramer, and I led him
to the instrument. The excitement was great, the whole
party eagerly listening. Clementi had not been heard foi
years. He extemporized on a theme from Handel, and



128 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

completely carried us away 'by his fine playing. His eyes
gleamed with youthful fire ; those of many of his hearers
were dimmed with tears of emotion. Amid shouts of
applause, and the heartiest congratulations, he resumed
his seat.

" dementi's pianoforte playing, when he was young,
was famed for the exquisite legato, pearliness of touch in
rapid passages, and unerring certainty of execution. Even
now the remains of these qualities were recognized and ad-
mired, but what chiefly delighted h'.s audience was the
charm and freshness of his modulations in improvisation."

On the day of the dinner given to Clemen ti, Moscheles
writes : " I can only jot down a few words in addition to
my wife's letter, before our great dinner comes off, as ten
stiff fingers are waiting in the next room for me to make
them flexible ; they are like thirsty mill-wheels waiting for
a fresh flow of water.

" Hummel wished to publish his ' New Pianoforte
School ' in England, and I negotiated the matter for him,
although I saw the wreck of his scheme in his demand of
150/, the publisher refusing to give more than 100/.

'• During this season ' Oberon ' was frequently given at
Covent Garden, and also Mozart's ' Seraglio,' not, however,
the pure unadulterated Mozart music, such as we Germans
know, but with whole numbers cut out, and other popular
English melodies substituted. A fearful desecration ! The
culprit who has this Pasticcio on his conscience is Kramer,
of Brighton, director of the King's band. As a compensa-
tion for this musical outrage, we had some rich and often
amazingly beautiful scenic effects "

Moscheles played before the Court circle assembled at
the Duchess of Kent's in Kensington Palace. '• The little
Princess Victoria was present, and the Duchess begged me
to play at once, so that the Princess, who was obliged to go
to bed early, might hear me. She left the room after my
second piece. I had to play a great deal (on a BroadwooJ),
and accompanied the Duchess in a song of Beethoven's,
besides a duet from 'Zelmira,' sung by her Royal Highness
and the Princess Feodora. The Royal party took a very
friendly inteiest in my performances, but what I think
pleased them more than all was my improvisation on some



HEINRICH HEINE. I2n

of the Tyrolese Melodies, for the Duchess had twice com-
manded the attendance of the Rainers at the palace.''

Extracts from Mrs. Moscheles' letters will show that her
husband's time was socially and professionally a busy one :
" Happily such a day as that of Monday last is a rare
occurrence in my poor husband's life, busy as it always is.
First came the inevitable nine lessons, then the dinner of
the Royal Society of Musicians, where he played, and to
wind up, an evening party at Sir Richard Jackson's, which
lasted until two a. m."

This was the first season that Heinrich Heine appeared
in London. During his residence in Hamburg, he was on
intimate terms with Mrs. Moscheles' family, and since those
days had become distantly related. It would have been
strange if, in such a commercial centre as Hamburg, Heine's
genius had been instantly recognized, and, as a fact, no one
suspected it in the youth who, often absorbed in thought,
was always satirical, and more than averse to the routine of
"business" in a rich uncle's office, though it might prove
the surest passport to the income of a millionaire. But a
poet he was, and a poet he would be. Consequently all he
retained of his mercantile studies was a horror of business,
and a singularly beautiful handwriting.

So far from agreeable were his recollections of Hamburg
that when, in 1830, Mrs. Moscheles asked him to write in
her album, he treated her to a satire on her native town,
which we here give in the original, and an English version
of the same : —

Dass ich bequem verbluten kann,
Gebt mir ein weites edles Feld !
O lasst mich nicht ersticken hier.
In dieser engen Kramerwelt !

Sie essen gut, sie trinken gut,
Erfreu'n sich ihres Maulwurfsgl ticks;
Und ihre Grossmuth ist so gross,
Als wie das Loch der Armenbiichs*.

Cigarren tragen sie im Maul,
Und in der Hosentach' die Hand',
Auch die Verdauungskraft ist gut —
Wer sie nur selbst verdauen konnt !

6*



ISO



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

O, dass ich grosse Laster sah',
Vorbrechen blutig, colossal —
Nur diese satte Tugend nicht,
Und zahlungsfahige Moral !

Ihr Wolken droben, nehmt mich mit,
Gleichviel, nach vvelchem fernen Ort—
Nach Lappland oder Afrika,
Und sei's nach Pommern, immer fort !

O nehmt mich mit ! — Sie horen nicht —
Die Wolken droben sind so klug !
Vorriiberreisend dieser Stadt
^ngstJich beschleun* gen sie den Flug.

H. Heine.



TRANSLATION.

I crave an ampler worthier sphere :

I'd liefer bleed at every vein,
Than stifle mid these hucksters here

These lying slaves of paltry gain.

They eat, they drink ; they're every whit

As happy as their type the mole ,
Large are their bounties, as the slit

Through which they drop the poor man's dole.

Cigar in mouth they go their way
And hands in pockets, they are blest

With grand digestions — only they
Are such hard morsels to digest !

The hand that's red with some dark deed.
Some giant crime, were white as wool.

Compared with these sleek saints whose creed
Is paying all their debts in full.

Ye clouds that sail to far off lands.
Oh, waft me to what clime ye will ,

To Lapland's snows, to Libya's sands.
To the world's end — but onward still !

Take me, O clouds ! they ne'er look down :

But proof of a discerning mind.
One moment hang o'er Hamburg town.

The next they've left it leagues behind.



HEINE IN LONDON. \x\

After the publication of his " Reiscbilder," he made
many enemies ; some persons, of whose identity with char-
acters portrayed in that work there could be no doubt,
smarted under the merciless lash of the poet, and would
have retaliated on him if they could, while lookers-on at a
distance chuckled with delight at the biting satire. Heine's
prose was acknowledged to be that of a master. His
originality of thought, striking imagery, terseness and
vigorous language, contrasted wonderfully with the involved
periods of some of his contemporaries. His great reputa-
tion had reached England before his arrival, and naturally
his appearance in London created a sensation.

Mrs. Moscheles writes : " My old Hamburg acquaint-
ance, the famous Heinrich Heine, is here. We delight in
seeing him. He often invites himself to dinner, and I
flatter myself that he feels quite at home with us. His
genius and writings are a constant source of delight to me,
yet 1 can't help feeling some slight misgiving, knowing as 1
do the keenness of his satire. At his very first visit we had
a very curious conversation. I scarcely know how I came
to muster courage, but when he told me of all the lions he
wanted to see, I said, 'I can get you tickets of admission
to numbers of private galleries and other sights, and shall
consider it an honor to do so, but I must stipulate for one
thing in return. This is that you will not mention Mos-
cheles by name in the book you are no doubt going to write
about England. He was completely taken by surprise, and
I gave additional reasons. Moscheles' specialty is music ;
this, I know, interests you — but you have no thorough
knowledge of it as an art, and consequently cannot fully
enter into it. On the other hand, you can easily find in
Moscheles a subject for your satirical vein, and introduce
him in your work ; I should not like that.' He laughed, or
rather simpered, in his peculiar way, and then we shook
hands over our bargain."

Again Mrs. Moscheles writes : " Heine took a walk
with us in Grosvenor Square, the key of w-hich had been
lent us : he was very facetious on the number of chimney-
pots, which are certainly bewildering to a gaping foreigner.
Two days ago he came here, wet through, for a change of
clothes. I sent him into my husband's dressing-room



132 ^£ CEN T M USIC A ND M U SI CI A NS.

He sent back the things shortly before he left England,
with the following note: —

'* My dear Mr. Moscheles, — On the point of starting,
I bid you heartily farewell, and take the opportunity of
thanking you for the sympathy and kindness you both have
shown me : I am sorry I did. not find Mrs. Moscheles at
home the day before yesterday. You, Mr. Moscheles,
were ' engaged ; ' and I did not like to have you called
away. 1 am just packing my trunk, and at last return your
property, thinking it a good joke to ask for my boots, as
well as the second volume of the * Reisebilder,' left as a de-
posit in your dressing-room. If I possibly can 1 will pay
you another visit, if only to assure you by word of mouth
that I highly, very highly esteem and love you both.

" Your devoted,

"H. Heine.

" 32, Craven Street, Strand,
July, 1827."

Carl Klingemenn, the gifted poet, and friend of Men-
delssohn, who arrived in London this year, as Secretary to
the Hanoverian embassy, became, after the lapse of a few
weeks, a constant visitor and intimate friend of the Mos-
cheles. His delightful verses, which Mendelssohn set to
music, are well known. He was not only welcome to the
Moscheles as a man of letters, but his vocal gifts and
musical talent gave exceptional value to his criticism
of musical compositions. In later years family ties helped
to strengthen the sincere friendship which had arisen be-
tween the two families. During this season, Oury. an
admirable violinist, gave Chamber Concerts ; De BiTiot
and Cramer were shining lights, and Camiilo Sivori, a boy
of nine years of age, Paganini's pupil, appeared on the
musical horizon. " Truly a prodigy for power, purity of
tone, and execution." On one occasion, when the Ham-
burg relatives are invited to London, Moscheles writes : —

" We have plenty of room for you both 3 should you find
it too narrow, there is plenty more in our hearts. Besides,
you ought to see my boy clambering about me, and chatter-
ing an obligato acccmiDaniment to my letter."



FIR ST A PPEA KA NCE OF SI VORI. j 3 3

Shortly after the arrival of the guests, Moscheles re-
joices at the birth of a first daughter, and a few months after,
we find the whole family travelling to Scotland, Moscheles
fulfilling, as he went along, professional engagements in
several of the great northern towns.



CHAPTER XI.
1828.

Edinburgh — Curious Architecture — Sir Walter Scott — A Delightful
Visit — Highlanders and the Bagpipes — Scott's Appreciation of Ger-
man Literature — Contribution to Moscheles' Album — Scotch
Church Service — Visits to the Lions of Edinburgh — Spurzheim
the Phrenologist — Life of a Musician in London — Mademoiselle
Sontag — Peter Pixis — Fete at Vauxhall — Scott and the Prima Don-
na — Mademoiselle Mars.

EDINBURGH, 3d January.— Yesterday's walk through
the streets was a series of surprises. As I looked at
the old houses, consisting in some instances of sixteen
stories, inhabited by the poorest families, renting single
rooms, each with its dimly lighted window, I seemed to look
at a feeble attempt at illumination. Standing on the viaduct
which connects the Old and New Town, I had these old
houses to my left, on the right, the handsome Princes
Street, and the whole of the new quarter, now in the pro-
cess of building, which is to consist of a number of crescents,
squares, and streets, filled with pala'-ial houses, built of free-
stone. Such buildings are to be seen elsewhere, but Princes
Street is certainly unique in its way ; there is a long row of
houses on one side, intersected by sloping streets, from
which you get a view of the Frith of Forth, while the oppo-
site side opens to your view Edinburgh Castle on its rock,
to which you ascend by a terrace garden. As I was taking
my evening stroll, I saw a party of Highlanders, kilt and
all, coming off guard. They marched down from the Castle
and passed close by me, regaling my ears with genuine
Scottish music of drum and fife.

"Our lodgings in Frederick Street, which were taken for
us beforehand, were curious specimens of architecture.
One peculiarity consisted in a raised ground-floor, that ran
under the neighboring house, but disconnected with any
staircase leading to the upper stories. The next house to



VISIT TO EDINBURGH. 135

that, on the contrary, had no rooms on the ground-floor,
and the visitor, after mounting a staircase, found a bell,
which secured his admission to the first story. House-
doors and steps were quite open ; many other houses were
constructed on this curious principle."

The success of this winter expedition, undertaken by
Moscheles for professional purposes, was seriously imperiled
by an Italian Opera Company which had forestalled him,
and he was obliged to put up with a third-rate orchestra,
got together any how from regimental bandsmen ; the High-
landers, with their bare legs and kilts, being the poor sub-
stitutes for a well-trained orchestra.

The concert room was only two-thirds full, but Mos-
cheles, in his fantasia, the "Anticipations of Scotland,"
created great enthusiasm ; and the newspapers, one and all,
condemned the apathy shown by this poor attendance at
\\\< concert. This appeal to the good sense of the Edin-
burgh folk had its effect, for the two next concerts were
filled to overflowing.

The Moscheles', on the occasion of this visit to Edin-
burgh, made the acquaintance of Sir Walter Scott, in whom
the reading world had discovered ''the Great Unknown,"
and to whose intellectual eminence thousands upon thou-
sands looked up with feelings of the deepest gratitude and
homage. The sickliness and sentimentality characteristic
of the romance writers before the days of Scott, it is true,
were avoided by Miss Austin, Miss Edgeworth, and some
few others, who found materials for their fictions in the
episodes of private life, but Scott was the first to introduce
characters of real historical interest, and clothe them with
flesh and blood.

The world in those days knew nothing of the stimulants
supplied wholesale by Eugene Sue, Alexandre Dumas, etc.,
and revelled in the simplicity, picturesqueness, and whole-
some truths conveyed in the fictions of the "Great Wizard
of the North."

To the delight of Moscheles, Sir Walter sent an imme-
diate answer to his letter of recommendation, saying that,
being confined to his house with an attack of gout, he
hoped Moscheles and his wife would come to breakfast,
instead of waiting for him to visit them.



136



RECENT MUSrC AND MUSICIANS.



Next morning, at 10 a. m., they called at No. 6, Shand-
wick Place, where the illustrious man was staying for the
winter, with his second, and unmarried, daughter. '• He
opened the door himself,'' says Moscheles, " and welcomed
us heartily: he was suffering from gout, and walked with a
stick. Before we had taken off our things we felt com-
pletely at home, and my wife's anticipated awe of the great
man had entirely vanished. We sat down to breakfast
forthwith, and a genuine good Scotch breakfast we had,
served on handsome silver plate, by two servants in powder
and livery. Scott's conversation was extremely animated
and delightful : he understands German, and is thoroughly
versed in our literature, and an enthusiastic worshipper of
Goethe. He told us many anecdotes, but when he asked
me, ' How do you like my cousin the piper? — you know, we
Scotch are all cousins' — I am afraid my answer must have
done violence to his sense of music, which by nature, was
very limited. It was impossible for me to pretend to any
enthusiasm for the bagpipes. Sir Walter had expected as
much, but expatiated on the wonderful effect the national
music has on the native Highlanders, arguing that a wan-
dering piper would attract crowds in the streets of Edin-
burgh ; also, that in battle the sound of bagpipes would
inspire Scotch soldiers with a desperate valor. ' You
should hear my cousin the piper play and sing " The
Pibroch o' Donald Dhu," but with the Gaelic words,' said
he ; ' those words are the only appropriate ones to convey
spirit and animation, but the melody itself carries one
away.' He began to hum the tune, and beat time on the
carpet with his stick, which was always by his side ; ' but,'
added he, ' the whole thing is wrong ; I sing so badly : my
cousin, who has just come in, must play the tune for us up
stairs in the drawing-room.' Accordingly, we went up stairs ;
the cousin played me the subject; I extemporized upon it,
and completely won the heart of our ever-youthful-minded
and genial host. This was the prelude to my playing
several Scotch airs, which I had to vary and interweave in
all manner of ways. At last we parted, after a delightful
visit, ever memorable to us ; the amiability and sweetness
of Scott's manner are never to be forgotten. Kindness,
indeed, is written in every feature, and speaks in every word



LETTER FROM SIR WALTER SCOTT. 13^

that falls from him. He treated my wife like a pet daugh-
ter, kissed her on the cheek when we went away, and
pronnsed he would come and see the children, and bring
them a book. This he did, and his gift was the ' Tales of
a Grandfather.' He had written in the title-page, ' To Adol-
phus and Emily Moscheles, from the Grandfather.'

" After our visit, Sir Walter was unfortunately confined
to his bed with a fresh attack of gout ; he got better, how-
ever, and on the occasion of my third concert, which was a
matinee, to the surprise of a crowded and fashionable
audience, Sir Walter stepped into the room before the
music began. My wife," says Moscheles, " sat as usual in
a remote corner of the room ; Scott, however, found her
out instantly, and sat down by her side, drawing upon her
the envious eyes of many a fair beholder. His hearty
bravoes and cheers, when I played, stimulated the audience
to redouble their applause, which reached a climax when I
gave them the Scotch airs. Between the parts he asked
my wife if she knew Blrger's poem ' Der Dichter liebt den
guten Wein,' and, on her answering in the affirmative, he
told her how he delighted in this poem, which he had trans-
lated into English, adding, ' Would you like to have it ? I
shall send it you.' She begged him to recite the song in
the original ; this, to my wife's great delight, he willingly
assented to, while all around listened eagerly. On the
following day, the last before we left Edinburgh, Mrs. Mos-
cheles received the following note : —

"My dear Mrs. Moscheles, — As you are determined
to have me murder the pretty song twice, first by repeating
it in bad German, and then by turning it into little better
English, I send the promised version.

" My best wishes attend your journey, and with best
compliments to Mr. Moscheles,

" I am truly and respectfully yours,

" Walter Scott.

" The day before we left Edinburgh we were amused to
see our kind friend sitting in the Court of Justice, with a
wilderness of official papers before him."

Moscheles sent Sir Walter his album, with the request



138 RE CEN T M USIC A ND M U SI CI A NS.

that he would contribute to its pages. Finding the follow
ing poem by Grillparzer, he translated it : —

Tonkunst dich preis' ich vor Allen
Hochstes Loos ist dir gefallen,
Aus der Schwesterklinste drei,
Du diQ frei'ste, einzig frei.

Denn das Wort, es lasst sich fangen,
Deuten liisst sich die Gestalt ;
Unter Ketten, Riegeln, Stangen
Halt sie menschliche Gewalt.

Aber du sprichst hoh're Sprachen,
Die kein Hiischerchor versteht,
Ungreifbar durch ihre Wachen
Gehst du, wie ein Cherub geht.

Darum preis' ich dich vor Allen
In so tingstlich schwerer Zeit ;
Hochstes Loos ist Dir gefallen,
Dir, und wer sich air geweiht.

This outburst of the poet, groaning under the censorship
of Austria, and gagged in every generous effort for the
emancipation of his countrymen, must have touched Scott's
sympathies. A few hours afterwards he sent back the
album, with the following translation of Grillparzer's poem,
headed with these words, " I am afraid Mr. Grillparzer's
verses, and Mr. Moscheles' valuable album, are only dis-
graced by the following rude attempt at translation : " —

Of the nine the loveliest three
Are painting, music, poetry.
But thou art freest of the free,
Matchless muse of harmony.

Gags can stop the poet's tongue.
Chains on painters* arms are flung.
Fetter, bolts, and dungeon tower
O'er pen and pencil have their power.

But music speaks a loftier tone.
To tyrant and to spy unknown ;
And free as angels walk with men.
Can pass unscathed the jailor's ken.

Then hail thee, freest of the free !
'Mid times of wrong and tyranny :
Music, ihe proudest lot is thine.
And those who bend at music's shrine.



SCOTCH CHURCH SERVICE.



139



This translation, evidencing Scott's accurate knowledge
of the German language, Moscheles prized as one of the
gems of his album.

The poet and the musician parted, Moscheles promising
to find a London publisher for some pretty songs set to
music by a Miss Browne, with words by her sister, Felicia
Hemans. Scott, on his part, engaged to pay an early visit to
the Moscheles. The music was published, and the visit paid.

Moscheles observes upon Edinburgh : " The church ser-
vice, from which the organ is banished, struck me as pecu-
liar. The Psalms are intoned by a four-part choir, in which
the congregation joins. But the basses are usually in
unison with the sopranos, instead of forming the support of
the other voices. Dr. Thomson's sermon was very good in
itself, but the nasal twang and Scotch accent coupled with
the vehement gesticulation of the preacher, made it more
singular than elevating. The Scotch Sunday, I must say,
is wearisome to a degree. Twice or three times at church,
more prayers at home, or sitting twirling one's thumbs ; no
music, no work, no visiting — a perfect blank. I have had
to endure all this. It's a difficult matter to steal quietly off
to one's own room and write letters, or clandestinely to read
books of a secular kind. If I didn't do this I should not
survive. The deep snow this winter only allowed us to take
short walks or drives about the city ; here is a description
of one.

" To-day we visited Calton Hill, and had a glorious view.
On one side the blue line of sea, on the other Holyrood
House ; above us the rock of Arthur's Seat, on which
Nelson's monument stands. It is an unwieldy mass, and
seems too heavy for the rock. We could hardly keep our
balance here from the violence of the wind. We drove to
Roslyn Castle and Salisbury Craigs, but the weather was so
cold we could not enjoy ourselves. Holyrood House is
vary interesting ; the arrangement of the rooms is the same
as in the days of Mary Stuart ; the bed-hangings and furni-
ture, as well as coverlets and tapestry, worked by the unfortu-
nate Queen, have turned yellow from age. Time has left
its stamp on everything. Still, no one standing in these
rooms can fail to think with sympathy of the fair — possibly
guilty — ^but ill-fated Queen. There are to be seen Darnley's



140



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



armor, boots, and gloves ; the small window out of which
the infant James I. was handed, because his royal mother,
weak and helpless, was under arrest in this little room ; and
last of all, the hidden side door, near the Queen's boudoir
and bedroom, which leads to an underground passage.
When the Queen was surprised by her husband, while she
was with her favorite Rizzio, the unfortunate musician, it is
said, was repeatedly stabbed with daggers, and dragged to
the door leading to an outer passage, where darks stains are
seen on the floor. We looked at these incredulously, and
treated them as mythical ; but to vouch for their genuine-
ness, or rather of the poet's belief in it, Mr. Ballantyne,
Scott's friend, and the printer of his entire works, showed
us a note which, as the testimony of the poet, is certainly of
some weight. ' I have no doubt,' says he, ' of Rizzio's blood
being genuine. I will look at the plan of the place ; but I
think I am right.'

" Another day we were shown the High Court of Justice
crowded with Scotch advocates in their wigs and gowns.
The din was fearful ; but the judges contrived to follow the
speeches of the opposing counsel, although the mere effort
of listening in the midst of such a buzz seemed a mystery
to me. I stood close to Mr. Murray — one of the greatest
advocates in Scotland. He was in the act of speaking, but
every word was drowned by the noise, and escaped me. I
could see his mouth moving, and his hands raised ; that was
all. If the listening to the legal arguments of counsel be
such a difficult}', I asked myself, what must be the task of
the judges in forming an opinion, or delivering a judgment.-*
Flights of steps behi-.id the Court of Justice lead to a per-
fect labyrinth of small courts, lanes, and odd corners. Pass-
ing by these back-stairs, and through these tortuous passa-
ges, one thinks of poor Etfie Deans, and for the first time
begins to realize the feasibility of her seducer's escape."

Among the numerous acquaintances made by Moscheles
in Edinburgh, was that of Sir John and Lady Sinclair.
He also called on the great phrenologist Spurzheim, and,
wishing to test his powers, gave no name, but requested him
to examine his skull. Spurzheim merely uttered a few un-
meaning common-places, such as a " disposition for fine art,"
and the like ; afterwards, however, on hearing the name of



LABORS OF A LONDON SEASON.



141



Moscheles, he explained in a learned manner, how nature
had stamped him for a musician, Spurzheim gave a public
lecture on the anatomy of the human brain, and Moscheles
and his wife were present.

Dur'.ng the whole time of his stay in Edinburgh, Mos-
cheies was obliged to give lessons, in spite of the almost
prohibitory fee of two guineas an hour. " Some ladies," he
snys, " are bent on galloping through my compositions with
me at their side, no matter how difficult the music is, or how
short the time." But he was soon weary of all this. 1
shall be off as fast as I can," he writes, " and be proof against
the numerous offers they make me ; I can't be plagued with
endless concerts." He was true to his word, and was soon
back in London.

The " dead time of the year " is supposed to commence
when the season is over ; but to a busy professional man in
London, all months are full of life. During February Mos-
cheles was much occupied. April, May, and June were
crowded with engagements, there was leisure in July and
August for him to ask himself why he had not been crushed
by the weight of private and public business which had
pressed so heavily on him, why the avalanche of nine hours'
lessons per diem did not sink him at once and forever, and
how he managed to survive at all. He had to keep up his
social position, too, to give and attend parties, to keep late
hours incessantly, and play at his own and others' concerts ;
always remembering that his reputation — perhaps his liveli-
hood — depended on his playing up to a standard very diffi-
cult to maintain when the artist is jaded and worn. Com-
ing home in the small hours of the night, he would find a
heap of business letters, calling for an immediate answer,
before he could retire to rest. Happy the man who, after
three-and-twenty years of such a life, does not feel utter pros-
tration. The real talisman against it is in a happy, cheer-
ful home, and in a total surrender of professional business
during the autumn months. Let him enjoy country air, in
lieu of heated rooms and the gas of theatres ; salt waves in-
stead of deluges of lessons, and the privacy of home for the
rush of society. This is well enough in theory: it is a diffi-
cult matter to reduce to practice. There are temptc.g invi
tations for a professor to make a Continental tour, and lucra-



1^2 RECENT MUSIC AXD MUSICIANS.

tive offers from the managers of provincial festivals in-
England. Every watering-place has its quantum of fashion-
ables, glad to find a musical celebrit}' for teaching their
daughters or playing at their parties. If an artist is not
firm as a rock against these varied solicitations, he will carry
London with him, as the snail does her house, and come
back from the country to re open the campaign : his pock-
ets full of money, but his body and soul unrefreshed. If,
on the other hand, he will exorcise for awhile the spirit of
money-getting, his muse will commune with him in his soli-
tary walks, and, so far from forsaking him, remain his steady
friend.

When Moscheles returned from Scotland in February,
he found a letter from his friend Peter Pixis, who wished to
spend the next season in London, as Sontag's accompanist.
This lady was engaged at the Italian Opera, and Pixis was
to act as her secretary and entrepreneur as well. She came
to London on the 3d of April, and was a constant visitor
at Moscheles' house, where her beauty and fascinating gifts
were a source of delight to her friends. Her simplicity was
her great charm. " Sitting with her," says Moscheles, " at
our homely dinner, we entirely forgot the famous prima
donna whose debut all London is awaiting with the greatest
eagerness.

" She sang to us repeatedly in private, and with her
splendid voice and gifts gave us a foretaste of that delight
and fascination which was to keep her public audience
spell-bound." " To-day." says Moscheles, '■' I was present at
the dress rehearsal of the ' Barbiere,' she enchanted every
one with her Rosina. When the lovely girl appeared on
the balcony, she was applauded to the echo, and the magic
of her voice and style captivated us in the opening air 'Una
voce poco fi.' Her representations in London were a con-
tinued series of triumphs. The pressure in the pit of the
Opera House was so great that gentlemen, by the time they
found their seats, were minus coat-tails, and the ladies lost
their head-dresses. We used to witness the rush from Mad-
emoiselle Sontag's own box, which was always at our ser-
vice." ''I can't" say," says Moscheles, "which of her char-
acters I consider the most successful, for her vocalization
is always enchanting ; if I feel the absence of grand dramatic



soy TAG'S FIRST APPEARANCE IN LONDON.



143



efifect, I am more than compensated by the beauty, natural
grace, and the combined charm of her voice and person.
Her variations on the ' Schvveizerbue ' are absolutely perfect
in their own way, and it never occurs to me to ask myself
"How can she sing such trash?' because she sings it so
perfectly."

"April 6th. — Making arrangements for my own and
Sontag's first concert. That wonderful creature brought
Pixis to dine with us. In the evening we had some friends
who were in ecstasy at hearing the German Nightingale."

*• April 8th. — At a grand dinner given in Sontag's honor,
by Prince Esterhazy, Prince and Princess Polignac, Baron
Bulow, Count Redern, the Marquis of Hertford, Lord and
Lady EUenborough, Lady Fitzroy Somerset, Countess St.
Antonio, etc. etc., were present. Sontag sang exquisitely
in the evening. Pixis and I played solos and duets."

"No success is without its alloy, for some captious news-
paper scribbler volunteered to inform the world that Sontag
was unfit for the position of prima donna ; her success soon
gave a contradiction to this libel."

On the 4th of May we read in the diary, " Busy with a
musical work which brought back some painful recollec-
tions. I wrote for Willis, the publisher, an accompaniment
to Weber's last composition — an English song, which he had
written for Miss Stephens,* who had sung it at his last con-
cert. Only the vocal part, and a few bars of the accompa-
niment, were sketched in his manuscript. I filled in what
was wanting, carefully distinguishing my own writing from
that of the composer, by using red ink."

On various occasions this summer, the Moscheles, Pixis,
and other German friends and acquaintanceof Sontag, joined
her in short excursions, as to Epsom races, Chiswick, etc.
The prima donna was in great request socially. The Duke
of Devonshire danced with her at his own ball, where her
beauty and grace made a great sensation.

The director of the Italian Opera had determined to
allow his artists the privilege of engaging singers only on
condition that the concert should be held in the hall adjoin-
ing the theatre ; he also stipulated for a share of the re-

* The present Dowager Countess of Essex.



1^4 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

ceipts. Pixis consented to this arrangement, and gave a
concert, where Sontag sang and Moscheles played.

''July 8th. — To-day we attended a fashionable fete at
Vauxhall, given on behalf of the poor Spanish and Italian
refugees. The ' Battle of Waterloo ' was performed, and
the Duke saw himself admirably represented. The evening
concluded with a concert, in which both Pasta and Sontag
sang."

" July 19th. — Velluti's shrieks in the opera were abso-
lutely unendurable ; his false intonation drove me wild. I
may be severe upon him, but the wounds he inflicted
were hardly to be cured by the flute-like voice of Sontag."

" On one occasion (we quote Mrs. Moscheles' letter) we
had the happiness of entertaining the famous Sontag at a
large party at our own house — she was enchanting as usual.
Sir Walter Scott, who happened to be in London, was pres-
ent. He was delighted at meeting Sontag, whose introduc-
tion to Sir Walter, on the eve of her appearing in the
' Donna del Lago,' was singularly well-timed. Lockhart, it
is true, tells us in his biography that Sir Walter felt annoy-
ed at being besieged by a crowd of flatterers and strangers,
who made a pilgrimage to Abbotsford, and overwhelmed
him with compliments, their knowledge of his works being
based possibly on a single attendance at the 'Donna del
Lago,' at the Italian Opera ; but in the presence of Sontag,
the great man was all ears, and eyes too, I think. When
she questioned him about her costume as the Lady of the
Lake, he described to her with the utmost minuteness every
fold of the plaid, and was greatly pleased when I produced
a genuine satin clan plaid, the present of Lady Sinclair,
while in Edinburgh, the loan of which I was delighted to
promise to Sontag. He showed her the particular way the
brooch should be fastened at the shoulder, and would nor
allow any alteration. Henrietta had two worshippers that
evening, the second being Clementi, who seemed as much
fiiscinated as Scott. He got up from his chair and said ' To-
night I should like to play also.' The proposition was re-
ceived with acclamation." " He extemporized with all the
freshness of youth," writes Moscheles, " and we listened
with intense delight, for Clementi very rarely played before
company. You should have seen the ecstasy of the two



SON TAG.— MARS. I45

old men, Scott and Clementi ; they shook each other by the
hand, took it in turns to flirt with Sontag, without seeming
jealous of one another ; it was a pretty duet of joint admi-
ration, of course the poet, musician, and songstress were the
observed of all observers."

On the 24th of July Sontag finished gloriously at the
Opera, with the " AmenaTde."

Moscheles composed, during the season, for Cramer and
his niece, a four-hand Rondo in E flat, " La Belle Union,"
performed at the annual benefit concert of "Glorious
Joim." He also wrote his G majoi sonata for pianoforte
and flute. " I launched forth," he says, " my ' Gems a la
Sontag,' and it was immediately caught hold of by my nu-
merous pupils, and afterwards by the whole tribe of would-
be pianists, attracted by my close imitation of the roulades
and cadenzas of the illustrious Sontag."

That delightful concert-singer Madame Stockhausen
was, in this her second London season, a recognized favor-
ite with the English public. She had now become com-
pletely mistress of the language, and was constantly heard
in Handel's oratorios. The famous Mars, old in years,
young in appearance and performance, still delighted every
one with her acting. " None that saw her in the part of Val-
erie, or in the ' Ecole des Vieillards,' can ever forget her."

" To-day a strange episode varied my daily duly of les-
son-giving," writes Moscheles ; " I appeared in a small
court, among a wretched crowd of men and women who
were sued for small debts. I myself figured as defendant,
having (as it was said) refused to pay for an advertisement
of my own concert. Of course the loss of time was more
serious to me than paying at once the sum demanded, but I
hate being cheated. I took up the matter more earnestly
than the plaintiff reckoned on, but he w^as non-suited, as
he could not even prove that he belonged to the newspaper
which he pretended to represent."

Moscheles and his family passed the month of Septem
ber very pleasantly at Hastings, and composed there a light
piece written to order — " Strains of the Scotch Bards ;"
giving it some importance afterwards by a dedication to Sir
Walter Scott, whose answer, upon being requested to ac-
cept it, ran thus : —

7



[46 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

"My dear Sir, — I regret that my absence upon short
journeys from home should have caused your obliging pro-
posal to inscribe the music of ' Donald Dhu ' to me to re-
main some time unanswered. Believe me, I feel obliged
by the proposal, and will accept it with great pleasure. Tell
my fair friend, Mrs. Moscheles, that I send my best com-
pliments, and beg to retain a place in her recollection ; and
when you see the fine old gentleman Mr. Clementi, will you
oblige me by remembering me to him 1
" 1 am always, dear Sir,

'' Your oblig^ed humble servant,

" Walter Scott.

" Abbotsford, Melrose, October 18."

On his return to London, Moscheles began to write his
long-meditated Symphony in C, which he finished about the
end of November. Mathews and Yates had taken a lease
of the Adelphi Theatre. " Mathews," says Moscheles,
"who is an immense favorite with the English public, de-
lighted us with his inimitable comic acting. The last
piece — 'London and Paris' — with the steamer crossing the
Channel, was now and then rather too spicy, but we nearly
died with laughing.

Moscheles plays at a concert in Brighton, but again com-
plains of a wretched orchestra.

In London, besides private teaching, he was frequently
engaged as pianoforte instructor at the Royal Academy of
Music, and attended the pupils' concerts in the Hanover
Square Rooms.

We read again : " Erard presented me to-day with a
grand concert piano, of the value of 160 guineas. 1 cer-
tainly owe him my best thanks for such a present. Exter-
nally the instrument is all that can be wished for \ but
the tone of the higher notes is somewhat dry, and I find
the touch still too heavy. My Clementi, therefore, still
remains my favorite, although Erard's instruments have
begun steadily to make their way. Madame de Rothschild,
now that she has heard my Erard, wants to invest in one."

Moscheles kept his Christmas in the good old German
fashion ; for ws find allusions to the Christmas tree — so
suggestive of absent friends and home associations.



CHAPTER XII.
1829.

Moscheles' Productions — Fugitive Pieces — Expense of Private Con-
certs — Domestic Sorrows — Visit of Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy —
The Chevalier Neukomm — A Cinque-cento of Vocalists — De Ber-
iot — " Troubadours" and " Bohemian Brothers" — Artists' Concerts
— Power of the Italian Opera — Laporte — Handel's " Acis and
Galatea" — Visit to Hamburg — Reminiscences of a Tour in Den-
mark and Sweden.

IN reading musical biographies, we often meet with
elaborate dissertations on the works of composers,
with an abstruse analysis of the writer's " intentions." If
we look for a parallel in the history of letters, we find the
commentators of Shakespeare ascribing to him intentions
which do more credit to their ingenuity than to their judg-
ment. Beethoven's works have undergone a similar ordeal.
The great man wrote down simply what he thought and
felt ; but since his death critics, in their fancied wisdom,
have interpreted his works in all manner of ways. Of
course the sentiment expressed in the " Moonlight Sonata"
affects most minds alike ; the " Eroica" is always majestic,
but such sonatas as " Les Adieux," "L'Absence et le Re-
tour," are open to different reading, according to the feel-
ings of the executant, and will make a different impression
upon each individual listener. " And so it should be,"
Mendelssohn used to say ; " if the composer can only move
the imaginative power of his hearers, and call forth some
one image, some one thought — it matters not what — he has
attained his object." In accordance with this view we pur-
posely abstain from attempting a critical analysis of Mos-
cheles' compositions. Whatever their merits or defects,
this is certain — that works 'A-hich when first published made
an impression, and are now listened to with delight and
interest after a lapse of from thirty to forty and fifty years,
must possess more than ephemeral value. Such compo-



1^8 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

sitions are to be found in the G minor concerto (1820), the
"Twenty-four Studies" (1825 and 1826), the " Horn mage a
Handel," the Rondo in A, the E flat major Sonata, the
Sonata Melancolique," the *' Recollections of Ireland," the
three Allegri di Bravura, "La Forc3,"' "La Legeret^', "Le
Caprice," and others.

From about the year 1840 Moscheles' appearances in
public were less frequent than formerly. His later concer-
tos (in C major, the fantastique, pathetique, and pastorale)
did not become so popular as his earlier compositions, the
proper readings of which he himself made known to the
public. He used frequently to complain that people only
played his G minor concerto, the other seven being noways
inferior in his estimation. He would have desired that his
twelve grand characteristic studies, intended for practiced
artists, able to master their difliculties, should all have
been played in turn, without exclusive preference being
given to the "Nursery Tale." Of these twelve studies, he
thought the " Dream," " Terpsichore," and others more
especially adapted to the concert-room.

As to the light fugitive pieces which publishers from
time to time demanded of him, he says: "They are my
poor-box ; with what Jiey fetch I can support many a poor
devil m Germany who writes well and is ill-paid. I have
raised the price to thirty guineas apiece, so that I may not
be molested too frequently with such orders."

^Ve see the rate of remuneration current in those days,
by the following account of payments made to artists for
private concerts. Moscheles writes, "I had the manage-
ment of Madame de Rothschild's concerts, and paid on her
account the following sums : — Madame Stockhausen, 35/.
for two evenings ; M. de Bcriot, 5/. for one ; M. Mori
(violin-player), 7/. for one ; Mile. Pisaroni, 20/. for one ;
Sch:;tz and wife, 15/. for one; De Begnis, 25/. for two;
mvself 40/. for two ; making in all 167/., — a pretty little sum
according to our German notions."

In January Moscheles, when playing at a concert in
Bath, says : " Certainly I thought myself so much out of
practice that I doubted my success ; the public, however,
thought otherwise."

In the early spring of this year, Moscheles is deeply



MENDELSSOHN'S VISIT TO ENGLAND.



149



moved by domestic sorrow and anxiety. His eldest boy
died on the 23d of March, and the only remaining child was
in delicate health all winter. " The poor mother," he says
in his diary, *' knows nothing but anxiety, sorrow, and sleep-
less nights. One of our darlings is in his grave ; with
God's help she will be spared her one remaining treasure.
As a man I have a load of sorrow to bear, as an artist I
belong to the public." Moscheles was spared the fresh
sorrow that at one time seemed so imminent. Change of
air and scene worked so beneficially on the child's health,
that as early as June the parents were free from all anxiety,
and able to enjoy the society of artistic friends who visited
London in this year, and were carried off by Moscheles to
spend their Sundays with him in the country. \ During this
season Malibran reappeared, Pisaroni also was engaged at
the Italian Opera, and Sontag earned fresh laurels; but
by far the most delightful and interesting visit of all was
that of a young friend from Berlin — no other than Felix
Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, at that time a youth of nineteen
years of age. " Felix's father," says Moscheles, " had asked
me in a letter if I thought, and believed, and counselled
that his son should visit London, bringing some of his com-
positions with him, among them the Midsummer Night's
Dream Overture. Well, i thought and believed that the
young man was a genius, so I counselled that he should
come to us at Easter, and I promised with all my heart to
introduce him to the great London world."

Further on we read — "I took for him a lodging in 203,
Portland Street, and 1 have enjoyed the purest happiness
in his friendly and musical intercourse. As a friend, he is
of untold value ; cheerful, yet full of sympathy with us in
our recent loss, and our anxiety for the frail treasure still
left to us ; he is always ready to exchange the attractions
of London for our rural solitude, where his society acts like
healing balm on our wounded spirits. He seems to have
set himself the task of compensating us for our sufferings.
How delightful it is, when he brings some of his new com-
positions, and after playing them, waits with childlike mod-
esty for an expression of my opinion. Any other would
long since have become aware that in him I recognize
my own master, arid that I am in raptures where he is ex-



I - O J^E CEN T M USI C A ND M U SI CI A N S.

pec ting to be sharply criticised. Do what I wiJl to give
him a correct view and appreciation of our relative posi-
tions, he always insists on subordinating himself to me as
his teacher. The brilliant reception given to the pubh'c
performance of his Midsummer Night's Dream Overture
did not dazzle him. ' I must do better in evervthing,' was
his motto ; and to my praises he merely answered : ' Do
you like it? Well, I am glad of that.' He showed me the
manuscript of his sacred cantata on a chorale in A minor ;
an unpublished chorus in sixteen parts, ' Hora est;' and a
stringed quartet in A minor. He was always fond of bend-
ing his genius to the composition of little pieces — vocal or
instrumental — as, presents to his friends." In Moscheles'
album, for instance, he wrote a charming piece, entitled
" Perpetuum Mobile " (in C major) ; and another day
brought the pretty Miss C — an English ballad, written ex-
pressly for her, etc. etc.

At the same time with Mendelssohn there appeared in
England the Chevalier Neukomm, Haydn's pupil, a noble-
minded and highly cultivated man, and the most loyal of
friends ; but, unfortunately, without artistic genius ; he was
merely a solid, well-intentioned, and correct composer,
" with a pitiful lack of Attic salt," says Moscheles. His
oratorios, the " Ten Commandments " and " Christ," were
performed, and he had written some effective things, such
as the " Midnight Review," for the favorite singers Braham
and Phillips. At first these pieces roused the audience to
enthusiasm ; but in the long run they failed to obtain for the
composer the lasting recognition of an English public,
which is, generally speaking, faithful in its devotion to
artists.

Mendelssohn and Neukomm, who often met in the quiet
home of Moscheles, became very friendly ; their mutual
appreciation, however, being confined to the social virtues
of one another; for Neukomm, a tame musician, found, by
force of contrast, his friend Mendelssohn too impetuous,
noisy, and lavish in the use of wind instruments, too exag-
gerated in his Tempi, too restless in his playing ; whereas
Mendelssohn would turn on his heel, exclaiming in a fit of
youthful impatience, *' If only that excellent man Neukomm
would write better music I He speaks so ably, his langu?5e



DE BERIO T.— MADAME D UL CKEN. 1 3 i

and letters are so choice, and yet his music — how common-
place ! "

Fetis, and his lectures upon music, were equally dis-
tasteful to Mendelssohn. " What is the good of talking so
much about it ? " he says ; " it is better to write well ; that
is the chief matter. What is the good of this embodiment
of ' la musique mise a la portee de tout le monde,' lectured
on in French to an English audience, who certainly under-
stand only half of the technical expressions ; and perhaps
do not realize for the lecturer one-half of the receipts he
expects ? " Fetis at this time joined Moscheles in sketching
the plan for the " Methode des Methodes," in the joint
publication of which, Fctis's skill as a linguist was of the
greatest service to Moscheles, as he translated into excel-
lent French his friend's musical treatise on the study and
higher branches of pianoforte playing.

In the world of vocalists there was an " absolute cinque-
cento," to quote Moscheles' own words, " for besides Mali-
bran, Sontag, and Pisaroni, we have Madame Stockhausen,
Camporese, Velluti, Donzelli, and other singers. In addi-
tion to these, a German opera company, under Sch"tz, he
and his wife are excellent singers." Sontag, always kind
and charitable, gave a *' concert monstre " on the 13th
of July, for the benefit of the sufferers by the inunda-
tion in Silesia, and every one lent a helping hand. Men-
delssohn's "Overture to a Midsummer Night's Dream"
was given for the second time, and more vehemently ap-
plauded than before. His double Concerto, too, in E ma-
jor (manuscript), which Moscheles played with him, was a
great success. The receipts amounted to 500/.

The favorite violinist of this season, beyond all question,
was De Buriot — then at the very zenith of his power. His
latest composition, the B minor Concerto, wiitten after his
marriage to the unrivalled Malibran. and possibly with her
aid, was more interesting than his former bravura pieces.
With regard to pianoforte players, the most important of the
new-comers was Madame Dulcken, the highly-gifted and
distinguished sister of Concert-meister Ferdinand David.
She left Hamburg to settle in London, and was welcomed
by all genuine artists and connoisseurs.

The " one-shilling " performances were represented by



152 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

the so-called " troubadours " and " Bohemian brothers," the
former French, the latter village musicians from Bohemia.
These performers, common-place as they were, reaped a
plentiful harvest for their employers, Messrs. Bochsa and
Logan.

" We artists fare worse," says Moscheles, in noticing
these exhibitions ; "we look to something more than mere
gain, regarding our concerts as the means of producing our
newest works before large musical audiences, and subject-
ing them, year after year, to the ordeal of criticism at the
hands of competent judges. The speculation of Laporte,
the Opera Director, places a great stumbling-block in our
way."

The state of things was this. Those artists who had
annual concerts were anxious to let their patrons hear the
best dramatic singers, and accordingly often engaged them
with a view of enhancing the attractions of their pro-
gramme.

Laporte, who had become in 1828 the lessee of Her
Majesty's Theatre, was peremptory in his dealings with con-
cert-givers, his dictum being : '' Hire my opera concert-hall,
or you must do without my singers," and the high price he
put upon this arrangement made the acceptance a very dif-
ficult matter. The pill of course was sugared over with
many honeyed French conversational terms and phrases,
but Bochsa, the " manager's manager," knew how to trans-
late them into good English, while negotiating with Mos-
cheles behind the scenes during the opera performance —
the only time one was tolerably sure of meeting with these
gentlemen. Moscheles had several novelties ready for his
concert, a Symphony, a Fantasia, '• Strains of the Scotch
Bards," which, from being dedicated to Sir Walter Scott,
was sure to excite great interest ; " and yet," he says, " I
was obliged, like the rest of us, to have Italian singers, and
to experience all the endless worry of negotiating their costly
services ; I hired Laporte's concert-room at great expense
— not only this, I had to offer the owner of the Argyll Rooms,
which I had already engaged, a forfeit of 10/. This he con-
temptuously refused, and threatened me with a lawsuit ; 1
always had a wholesome dread of lawsuits, and so I con-
sulted a legal friend, who at last persuaded the man to ac-



BOCHSA.—ZUnCHEFJ. 1 : 3

cept the 10/." Laporte knew his advantages only too well;
he was master of the position, virtually monopolizing the
services of Malibran and Sontag, the idols of the public.
Indeed, the power of the Italian Opera was such that none
of the national theatres could compete with it.

We read on the 22d of June : — '• One of the choicest en-
tertainments this season was the dramatized representation
of Handel's ' Acis and Galatea,' performed at Bochsa's con-
ceit; the music allotted to the chief characters was admira-
bly sung by Miss Paton and Braham ; Zuccheli, with a gi-
gantic eye in the middle of his forehead, was a very good
Polyphemus. In spite of his Italian name, he is an English-
man by birth, and, loyal to his Handelian traditions, gave
every word and note of that master's music in the classical
and orthodox manner. What else had we? Next in order
aftei Handel's music, the Grave-scene from 'Rcmeo and
Giulietta,' exquisitely sung in Itahan, by Sontag and Mali-
bran, and for a finale, that German trifle the ' Pastoral Sym-
phony ; ' but that I missed, for an overdose of music is not
good for the health."

On the 31st of July, when the Moscheles were free to
embark from England for Hamburg, he exclaims: ''Who
so happy as we ? — we leave the chronic miseries of concerts
and the whole season behind us, and join our friends and
relations, among whom, if sorrow for our recent loss be re-
awakened, we shall find comfort and sympathy." Moscheles
during this holiday planned several sketches for his later
compositions.

Pressing offers were made to Moscheles to give concerts,
but he refused them as being foreign to the purpose of his
visit to Hamburg. The German theatre, however, now that
he and his wife had become half Anglicized, offered much
that was novel and attractive ; and they were enchanted
with Auber's " Stumme von Portici," the cast including
Cornet and the younger Fraulein Schroder, the sister of
Devrient.

Moscheles travelled alone to Copenhagen ; and we in-
sert some passages from letters written to his wife during
his two months' absence.

" Schleswig, Sept. 27, 1829. The entire road hither is
extremely like the Laneburger heath. At times the carriage



154 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

was all but upset, but I should only have lauded ou the
sand. I have wandered through Schleswig, which in length
and narrowness is only to be compared to miles of German
sausages. Ahlefeld, the Kammerherr, was very friendly,
but to give a concert here, and realize from sixty to seventy
thalers, would be a ridiculous waste of time. So the horses
are put to, and I shall drive on to Flensburg."

On the 29th of September he crosses the Little Belt, but,
no steamer being ready, is forced to pass a long dull day
(3othj at Nyborg. On the 2d of October he passes the
Great Belt, and after a night's journey reaches Copenha-
gen. After describing his delight with the beauties of the
place and its art treasures, he observes : " I heard for the
first time Weyse, the musical theorist, and a perfect idol
here, play an extempore fugue upon the organ in the Frauen
Kirche. When it was over, 1 went home with him, and
read several of his interesting works. I also made the ac-
quaintance of Kuhlau, the clever composer. Both these art-
ists amuse themselves by constructing musical canons in
the shape of riddles, and by finding their solution. At a
party given by Mr. W., I met not only these two men, but
also the poet Oehlenschltiger, and all the connoisseurs and
art critics of the place. Kuhlau and others played, and
then came my solo. When urged to improvise, I begged
to hear Weyse, who could not be prevailed upon, so to the
piano I went, and found myself, as it were, fenced in by a
wall of listeners, who were silent as death, while I was col-
lecting my thoughts , I would try to be learned as Kuhlau
and Weyse, interesting in harmony, jDlaintive and sentimen-
tal, and I would wind up with a storm of bravura passages.
I must have succeeded, for the burst of applause was uni-
sono, and the astonishment on the faces of all was such as
neither you nor I have ever witnessed. Old Professor
Schall fell on my neck and kissed me (* for shamel ' the
English would say). Kuhlau and Weyse besieged me till I
gasped for breath. For shame ! I say to myself, to be
blowing my own trumpet in this way ; but for whom am I
writing ? This success promises well for my concert ; but
another fortnight must elapse before that can come off; a
second or a third is out of the question. I might have to
wait till 1830. It can't be done !



LETTER FROM GOTHENBURG.



155



*' 1 had to play before the Court ; and here I give you

the programme and all particulars When my solo

and duet with Guillou were finished, and I was asked to
improvise, the old Queen came up, and making a thousand
excuses, hoping she would not be in the way, etc., sat by
ray side at the piano, where she was soon joined by the
King. I let myself go like a race-horse — fire, passion, even
coquettishness — I tried everything to act on the royal
nerves. First of all, I Rossinified a little, for I knew that
the Rossini fever rages at the Court here. Then 1" was a
Dane, and worked up some national melodies. The shouts
of applause made me desperately confident, and I wound
up with the Danish * God save the King' ('Kong Chris-
tian'). When I had finished — I leave you to imagine the
rest, only it certainly was a novelty to see a King running
about among the musical veterans present, to express his
astonishment and hear them confirm it.''

The next letter is from Helsingborg, on the way to Go-
thenburg, where Moscheles, instead of waiting at Copen-
hagen, wishes to give a concert. '' The passage from Co-
penhagen to Elsinore took six and a half hours, and three-
quarters of an hour in the afternoon to cross the Sound.
Here I was advised to hire a carriage, and a compound of
coachman and servant, styled a ' Husar,' for the journey to
Gothenburg. ' GUicklicher Prinz,' I can call myself as
usual, for I have the most lovely weather.''

From Gothenburg he writes : '• The day before yester-
day, after despatching my few lines from Helsingborg, I had
a very successful although fatiguing journey. My hired car-
riage, as they called it, was nothing more than a small seat,
attached to a four-wheel car. My box and portmanteau I
had between my legs. I was knocked and thumped about
most unmercifully. I could not make out a word my talka-
tive Husar said, but I could converse all the more freely
with lovely nature, glorious in every climate and under every
zone ; here on the shores of the Cattegat displaying an end-
less variety of romantic rocky scenery, interspersed with no-
ble forests. Generally speaking, the roads were good ; a
notice sent on twelve hours before insured us fresh relays
of horses, but, alas ! we got the start at Kungsbacka, and
found out to our dismay that we had in consequence two



1^6 KE- CEN T M USIC A ND M U SI CI A NS.

hours to wait. The comforts of the hostelry consisted of
a sort of measly-looking buscuit, and a tallow candle, at
which I lighted my cigar, then on we went again in the
dark and rainy night. A halt at eleven o'clock, but not at
Gothenburg, merely to fetch an extra horse, as we had a
stiff mountain pass before us. At one o'clock, however, the
welcome light greeted us from the lantern at the Gothen-
burg Custom House, more welcome than the police search
I had to submit to on alighting. After tremendous knock-
ing at ' Blone's Hus,' we aroused a servant girl from her
slumbers, but although my bed had been ordered before-
hand, all I could get was a room on the topmost story,
where my head touched the ceiling. To my question
whether I could not have an empty room on the first story,
1 was answered by a Swedish shrug of the shoulders, v»'hich
was Greek to me. I had a fire lit in my garret, allowed the
dense smoke to fill it, wrapped myself up in my furs, and
went to bed. My bad temper vanished at the thought of
you. Th. Hell's poem ' Macht der Frauen' (Woman's
Power), which I lighted on accidentally, expressed sympa-
thetically my own thoughts. This morning I got the identi-
cal rooms I saw last night, they had been bespoken for me.
My concert is advertised and arranged for the 2 7ih, three
days hence, and immediately afterwards I go back to Co-
penhagen. I am incessantly occupied with calculations
about the Danish and Swedish postal arrangements, to see
that our correspondence may not be interrupted. In a for-
eign town like this, I always mount the ramparts, from which
I can command a view over the town : how awfully grand
these precipices and torn fragments of rock around the har-
bor, and actually in it ! The winding river ' Gota-Elf ' re-
minded me of our Elbe, and I was no longer alone. . . .
The city has spacious streets and squares, one of which
really reminds one of the Linden. The weather is clear and
beautiful."

He goes on to tell of two great families, who in all mu-
sical matters are the despots of the place, and of course
rivals. " One has a Clementi piano, and the other a Graf.
Which shall I choose for my concert ? That is ' the burn-
ing question,' and I answer it by playing on both. Before
the concert I attended a real Swedish dinner. The host



A SWEDISH DINNER-PARTY.



157



a regular character, a fit subject for Hogarth, did the honors
at his large dinner party in the queerest fashion, as you will
see. First, I must tell you that, before the company sat
down, schnaps and herring were relished by gentlemen,
standing at a side table, only three glasses being allowed
for twenty-five people. We had veal, pike and soup to be-
gin with, then roast goose, plum-pudding, and splendid fruit
tor dessert. My ' original ' is a stumpy man, over sixty years
of age, with sparkling eyes peering out from under his grey-
ish-brown wig, his upper teeth gone, four under teeth remain-
ing as a sort of palisade to his enormous, pendent, moist
under-lip. He starts every topic of conversation, entirely
regardless of all the notabilities present, while his wife must
have signed a silence-clause in her marriage contract. Herr
S. was so full of the great event of seeing Professor Mos-
cheles in Gothenburg, and beneath his own roof, that he
continued to shower down praises on the Professor in the
most ridiculous style. He too has travelled in foreign parts,
there to learn (or unlearn) manners — his wanderings are a
la Wilhelm Meister, he is as sentimental as Sterne ; he has
been in England, and feels bound to toast ' the Professor.'
I give you a slight sample, as faithfully as I can, of his rig-
marole nonsensical speech: 'Gentlemen, would it be bold,
may I with some confidence use my privilege as master of
the house, and make a speech ? Heaven defend that 1 en-
joy the honor and the chance — you, my honored friends,
who know me as a plain honest man to speak — the chance,
do I say ? What is chance 1 Gothenburg enjoys the honor,
etc' Here followed the most silly compliments to myself,
and then again, ' Heaven defend, without trenching too near
on the modesty of this man — all admiration set apart — will,
no doubt, make a lasting impression. Long may he live,
the master of music in the kingdom of the beautiful.' You
can imagine my state of mind on hearing such a farrago of
nonsense ; I had to bite my tongue to prevent myself from
laughing. The Governor, the Rath, the Commandant of the
place, and the other guests, did not seem at all surprised ;
they must know him. When he had finished his speech, a
part song was performed by one amateur, ' the refrain,' sug-
gested by the occasion, always being the words : ' Es lebe
der Meister.' There was a jingling of glasses as I rose



158



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



from my chair to return thanks, but hardly had I said that
it was no accident that brought me there, but a wish on ray
part to be heard by the art-loving public in Gothenburg,
when Herr S. cut me short by modestly interrupting me
with : ' Heaven defend that the Professor thinks that I think
that accident (for everything in the world is accident) has
given us, not him, the happiness of seeing a man in our walls
whose modesty — Heaven defend— I should offend.' More
trash followed. Then the ladies left us, and the gentlemen
remained sitting round an enormus bowl of cold bishop.
Our host's silly tongue never stopped wagging. Songs were
sung, they did not much edify me ; as far as I could I re-
mained a passive spectator. After leaving the spacious
dining-hall, we passed through several elegant salons, to a
room where the Clementi piano stood, and I was obliged to
extemporize. This I did in a way to humor the particular
kind of audience ; and you may easily guess the result.
Schwartz, the pianoforte teacher, and Birnroth, organist of
the Cathedral, proposed that I should play on the organ.
This T did the following afternoon, in the presence of the
same company. I dashed into it, and worked away at the
pedals as though 1 had Vestris's feet.

" My concert was attended by every one with any real
or fancied taste or ear for music, so that I had a brilliant
and crowded audience. You will see the programme in the
newspaper. In obedience to a challenge from the company,
1 improvised on Swedish airs, which were given to me in
writing. 1 think I must have been pretty successful, for
they cheered me lustily, and flocked round me on all sides.
All invitations after the concert I firmly refused, for I want
to get back as fast as I can. . . . To-night, in spite of all my
hurry, 1 must remain in Helsingborg, where I am writing
to you. I have sent you a short extract from my last letter
by another and shorter route than usual, that I may insure
your hearing from me."

Moscheles would not go to Stockholm, although he had
half promised to play there : travelling alone was not at all
to his taste. From Copenhagen he afterwards writes : " I
can't think of a second concert here, as it would cost a whole
fortnight of my time ; consequently there is a great rush to
secure seats at my one public performance.



IF£ YSE.—KUHLA U.



159



"I have seen the favorite Liederspiel ' Elverboy ' (found-
ed on an old Danish fable, with characteristic songs and
choruses) and most tastefully arranged by Kuhlau. The
overture, which is a compendium of all the music that follows,
pleased me exceedingly. I have again paid a two hours'
visit to Weyse, for I think him the most interesting person
here; he entertained me with learned dissertations on art,
considered technically and aesthetically. His fugues are good,
his enigma canons really masterly. To morrow he comes
to me, and we shall frequently exchange visits."

On the loth of November he writes from Copenhagen :
" Yesterday was a memorable day in my calendar. I was
literally besieged from eight o'clock in the morning until
six in the evening. People scrambled to get the most ex-
pensive boxes, and almost went on their knees for single
tickets ; many had to pocket their money again, for no more
tickets were to be had, and I advertised to-day that no
money would be taken at the doors. Everything has been
sold at double prices; the result is a net profit of 1500
thalers. Notwithstanding I should lose too much time were
I to give a second concert, as Guillou and Milder are fighting
for the only possible nights. They both gave their first
concerts at the usual prices and had a good attendance.
What can I say about my reception.? Nothing; you can
guess what it was like. Well, the applause grew louder and
louder. In spite of my own disloyalty towards the Alex-
ander Variations, I was obliged to play them, as you will see
by the programme herein enclosed ; and the Improvisation —
well, on that subject I cannot write. Guillou, who was
going to give his second concert at the usual prices, offered
me to join him, and we would have double prices. It only
made three days difference to me, so I accepted the offer.
Well, these three days, we can bear like the rest, can't v;e 1
The concert is announced in G.'s name, with my assist-
ance."

Later on he writes : " The same scene enacted at ray
last concert has now repeated itself, and that too directly
the first announcement appeared. Everything again sold
off at double prices; 641 thalers came to my share. Be-
sides this, I shall turn snuff taker, for His Majesty honored
me with the present oi a gold enamelled box. Prince



l6o RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

Christian sent me a diamond ring: Frau a gold watch-
chain ; I had besides all sorts of complimentary messages
from the Court."

The month of December was spent in Hamburg, and
at the close of the year we find Moscheles in Paris.



CHAPTER XIII.
1830— 183 1.

An Accident — Hummel — Madame Malibran — Music in England-
Failure of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony — Erard's Pianos^
Henry Litolff — Neukomm — Philharmonic Concerts — First Rail-
way Journey — Operatic Celebrities — Field's Return to London—^
Paganini — Prodigies from the Continent — -Visits of Intimate
Friends — The Reform Agitation — A Musical Festival — Celebra-
tion of Christmas.

AFTER the first six weeks, spent happily in Paris, the
family returned to London. There Moscheles met
with an accident. He was thrown from his carriage, but,
however serious the accident at first appeared, fears of any
permanent injury happily proved groundless. Scarcely was
his wife relieved from anxiety on his account, when her
serious illness (after the birth of a second daughter) weighed
heavily on his mind for nearly three months. No wonder
that in the diary there is a comparative scantiness of musical
incident, when measured by the richer harvest of former
years.

" Hummel is here, he intends giving a concert, and
happily I can distribute many of his tickets among my
pupils. I wish I could have talked him over, and prevented
his appending so curious a notice to his advertisement ; it
was to this effect ; * People were not to suppose he would
play at the Philharmonic Concert; only in case a very
profitable engagement were offered him, could he be heard
anywhere except at his own concert.' He hoped by this
announcement to undeceive the frequenters of the Philhar-
monic who might reckon on hearing him there, without
going to his own concert. A few days later, at Malibran's
matinee, he made a mistake, in improvising on ' God save
the King,' for while George IV. was still lying dead and
unburied, people hardly thought of William IV. For this



1 62 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

he was taken to task by the public and the press, and, gen-
erally speaking, he added nothing to the well-deserved
laurels he had gathered in Vienna. It was noticeable that
he began to dislike trouble and exertion, for he possessed
no longer the elasticity requisite for plunging successfully
into the whirl and maze of London life ; besides that,
England, proud of Cramer, discovered that his legato was
equal to Hummel's, and preferred native to foreign talent.
Hummel, annoyed possibly at seeing this view adopted by
many of the newspapers, refused when asked by Cramer to
play a duet with him at his concert, and this refusal created
an unpleasant feeling against him. At that time Malibran's
genius and sad fate attracted the liveliest sympathy. Mar-
ried in very early years to a husband who had been forced
upon her, but liberated afterwards by special favor of the
Pope, she had clung to De B'riot with true devotion, and
now appeared in London as his wife ; but, in this marriage
also, hers was the unselfish, self sacrificing, part ; for out
of affection for her husband she not only sang in the opera,
but, after the fatigues of performance at the theatre, ap-
peared at private or public concerts, " and," says Moscheles,
"she always sings exquisitely, and with true inspiration;
she is never the mere vocalist, but a musical genius. If
obliged to repeat a cavatina, as is generally the case, she
improvises new passages more beautiful and original than
the first, unsurpassable as they seemed. Her very smile
captivates the orchestra and conductor, and she kindles
with a spark of her own spirit the most inanimate of orches-
tral players. Of this fire she has such a quantity in reserve,
that she can scatter it about without harm to herself.
Some of her lightnings she has darted upon De B'^riot's
smooth, finished, but occasionally lukewarm performance,
and 1 plainly enough see Madame in Monsieur's ' B minor
Concerto.' "

In a season so beset with domestic anxieties, Moscheles
could think of no serious original compositions, but was
obliged in pursuance of a contract to finish some of his
light fashionable pieces, such as the " Gems a la Mali-
bran ; " a light pot-pourri of her most popular songs, written
in the closest possible imitation of her original ' fioriture,'
which Moscheles had committed to memory. On the eve



FA IL URE OF BEETHOVEN'S NIN TH S Y MP HON Y.



63



of his own concert already advertised, and with a view of
bringing out some novelty, he put together within a few
days his "Recollections of Denmark," the echo of his trav-
els in that country ; and these national melodies lost none
of their etfect by the composer's treatment.

We find constant complaints this year about the con-
dition of music. " It is a mistake to give at every Phil-
harmonic Concert two symphonies and two overtures,
besides two grand instrumental and four vocal pieces. 1
never can enjoy more than half" Another time we read :
" Beethoven's Ninth Symphony failed ! What am I to
think of this? Must the fault be laid at the director's
door? Are the orchestral players or the public to blame?
I do not know; but things shall not remain so." And as a
fact they did not remain so, for when the Directors, after
this and another abortive attempt in the year 1824, deter-
mined never to produce the work again, persuading them-
selves into the belief that the deaf composer had written
some senseless trash because he never heard it, the
German press beat the alarm so furiously and lashed so
mercilessly the depreciators of this colossal work, that the
production and proper appreciation of it in England was
made a point of honor. It took several years to convey to
the English public the correct perception and appreciation
of this Symphony, and later on we shall see that the Phil-
harmonic Society turned to Moscheles for directing the
study and rehearsals of the work, and making it accessible
to the public. This once done, the Symphony maintained
its place in the programmes of the Society.

Looking further on in the diary, we find the following
notice : — '" What musical follies are daily perpetrated, for
one shilling a head, in the Egyptian Hall ! Michael Boai,
a German, who hits his chin with his fists, producing
thereby sounds in which a tune is discernible and variations
thereon, and an Englishman who pretends he can produce
two tones at once by humming like a clarionet and mutter-
ing a bass tone simultaneously. What rubbish all this I
Equally ineffective is a band of Russian horn music, each
member having a reed-pipe capable of producing but one
note, which, in the pertbrmance of pieces, he brought in
with unerring precision."



164 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

Important in the history of pianoforte-playing is the
fact that Erard's pianos became very popular, having
.attained this year a great excellence. '* The touch in par-
ticular is vastly improved, 1 begin to revel in these instru-
ments."

When the season was over the family went to Ryde, in
the Isle of Wight, the Revolution in Paris interfering with
their intended visit to that city. " Charles X. set aside for
Louis Philippe, and now an exile with his family at Castle
Lulworth. What a change ! " At Ryde, where Moscheles
revelled in his Erard piano, he composed the " Recollections
of England," which he dedicated to Queen Adelaide, and
the C minor Trio, dedicated to Cherubini. In the latter
half of the autumn Moscheles moved to 3, Chester Place,
Regent's Park, where he lived for more than sixteen years,
before he finally quitted England and settled in Leipzig.
At one of the first parties given in his new house, the new
Trio was played, with Lindley and Cramer, before many
enthusiastic friends, and Moscheles' home henceforth
became a place where artists were always welcome. With
so kind a host — himself free from envy and jealousy — they
could forget all rivalry and meet on neutral ground. In
January of 1831, Moscheles made a short professional tour
to the provinces (York, Leeds, Derby), where he labored
to improve much that was defective in the condition of
music.

We have seen how Moscheles, starting as a bravura
player, gradually took broader views of his art both as a
composer and player. His powers steadily matured, and
this year we find in his compositions and execution a depth
of feeling and expression in advance of former years ;
witness the adagio of his Concerto in C major, written
about this time, and the new Trio, upon hearing which
Hummel said that no modern pianoforte player but Mos-
cheles could write such an adagio. It should, however, be
stated here that this progress, although mainly originating
with Moscheles himself, was greatly favored by the improve-
ments made in Erard's pianos ; their organ-like tone and
full resonant sounds gave Moscheles such pleasure that no
doubt he had every incentive to bring into relief these great
excellences, and display them in his adagios. " A very



HENRY LITOLFF.—NEUKOMM. 165

violoncello," he used to say, praising the tone, which he
could prolong without using the pedals ; to the excessive
use of these he had a rooted aversion. " A good player,'*
he used to say, " must only rarely use the assistance of
either pedal, otherwise he misuses it." Frequently he
would listen to an excellent pianoforte player, praise him in
many respects, adding. " 1 wish he had not his feet so per-
petually upon the pedals. All effects now it seems must be
jDroduced by the feet — what is the good of people having
hands ? it is just as if a good rider wanted forever to use
spurs."

Among his pupils of those days was Henry Litolff, then
a boy of ten years of age, who was introduced to him by
his friend Collard, as a poor, clever, but rather neglected
child. Moscheles immediately recognized his talent. * His
father — an Alsatian, who with difficulty supjDorted his large
family by playing dance-music — was too poor to have a
piano for his son Henry, who practiced in Collard's ware-
house, and was so well prepared at every lesson that he
delighted and surprised Moscheles with the playing of his
Studies and Concertos.

The leading musical star on the dreary horizon of this
winter's season in London was Neukomm. He had written
for the impending Philharmonic Concerts a new Symphony
in E flat major, which, according to Moscheles, was "lack-
ing in Attic salt," and yet in the course of this year he was
destined to achieve great popularity, which he owed to some
extent to some spirited verses by Barry Cornwall. " David's
Lament for Absalom," declaimed in deep tragic tones by
Braham, and " The Sea," by Phillips, given with all the
spirit due to a national song, were frequently items in the
programme, but so powerful an impression was made by
the *' Midnight Review," that Moscheles was obliged to
write a Fantasia upon it This production, regarded by its
author as a step-child, was called by his pupils "charming"
and " delightful," and was played by many a fair lady.
About this time Neukomm's more serious works were given,
and his oratorio the "Ten Commandments" put into
'•ehearsal for the musical festival at Derby in September,
after having been given with the greatest applause by the
Classical Harmonic Society in London. A performance



1 66 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

of the work on a small scale was arranged at Moscheles'
house, with Madame Stockhausen and Clara Novello for
the solo singers. Moscheles, who appreciated the high mu-
sical cultivation and artistic aims of his friend, says of him :
" I am sorry he writes such an inordinate quantity of music,
and carries out the principle which he advocates : that one
must be writing daily. What becomes then of inspiration,
which alone shields one from vulgarity.'"' Neukomm's
society was highly prized in Moscheles' household, where
he went by the name of the "Encyclopaedia ;" for whoever
wanted information on any subject was sure to get it from
him.

In criticising the Philharmonic Concerts of this j-ear
Moscheles finds fault with the " conductor still sitting at
the piano, and turning over the leaves of his score ; without
a b.lton of course he has no influence over the band, which
is under the sole command of the first violin— a process
leading to constant unsteadiness in the performance of large
orchestral works. In the programmes the most hetero-
geneous things are often huddled together, orchestral works
alternating with chamber music; then again, we have the
first part of Spohr's 'Last Judgment' and a miscellaneous
second part by other composers. That doesn't suit a Ger-
man ear ; what would Spohr say to it? "

In February Moscheles, on a professional tour in the
north of England, speaks of his first railway journey. '' On
the i8th I went by rail from Manchester to Liverpool ; the
fare was five shillings. At i 30 1 mounted one of the om-
nibuses, which carried all passengers gratis to the great
building called the ' station.' Eight to ten carriages, each
about as long as an omnibus, are joined closely to one
another ; each carriage contains twelve places with seats
like comfortable arm-chairs ; at a given signal every travel-
ler takes his place, which is marked with the number of his
ticket, and the railway guards lock the carriages. Then,
and not before, the engine is attached to the foremost car-
riage ; the motion, although one seems to fly, is hardly j^er-
ceptible, and the traveller is amazed when he looks out of
the window and observes at what incredible speed the
train approaches the distant object and suddenly whirls by
it. Words cannot describe the i.npression made on me by



TA GLIONL— FIELD.



167



this steam excursion on the first railway made in England,
and the transports I felt with an invention that seemed to
me little short of magic. The famous engineer, Sir George
Stephenson, has realized his project amid untold struggles
and difficulties."

Coming back to London, he reports of his visit to the
theatre. " A new opera by Pacini — ' Pompeii ; ' the beau-
tiful scenery is the only part I cared for, the horrors of the
night of the city's destruction being represented in a mas-
terly way."

Then again : " Saw Kean as Richard the Third ; he
makes one shiver in one's shoes, bul rants too much — per-
haps because he is too old, and yet determined to make his
points."

He is enthusiastic on the subject of Pasta and her mag-
nificent acting. " The voice, at first veiled, comes out
triumphantly at a later stage, like the sun breaking through
the mist.

" Lablache, with the grandest of all voices — the ' voce
sul labbro' — his drollery, especially in the ' Barbiere,' and
his deaf old man in the Matrimonio Segreto, can never be
surpassed. Rubini, too, is exquisite ; the ballet of ' Kenil-
worth,' representing the whole of Scott's romance, is beau-
tifully put upon the stage. Taglioni, in every ballet in
which she appears, is as ladylike as she is graceful, a dan-
seuse quite unique and enslaving every one."

Moscheles says of Field, who after a twenty-five years'
absence appeared once more in London : " His legato play-
ing delights me, but his compositions are not at all to mv
taste ; nothing can afford a more glaring contrast than a
Field's ' Nocturne ' and a Field's manners, which are often
of the cynical order. There was such a commotion yester-
day among the ladies, when at a party he drew from his
pocket a miniature portrait of his wife, and loudly proclaim-
ed the fact that she had been his pupil, and that he had
only married her because she never paid for her lessons,
and he knew she never would. He also bragged of going
to sleep while giving lessons to the ladies of St. Petersburg,
adding that they would often rouse him with the question,
'What does one pay twenty roubles an hour for, if you go
to sleep t ' He played to us a good deal in the evening j



1 6 S RECENT M USIC A ND M USICE t A^S.

the delicac}^ and elegance, as well as the beauty of his touch,
are admirable, but he lacks spirit and accent, as vveJl as
light and shade, and has no depth of feeling."

At evening parties Moscheles had to endure a great
deal of amateur music, and often played as a matter of
self-protection, where otherwise he would have declined.
On the other hand he never wearied of making music with
his brother artists. At his annual concert, which was dense-
ly crowded, he introduced the "Recollections of Den-
mark," with their original northern melodies, and, for the
first time on such an occasion, used an Erard in preference
to a Clementi piano.

Paganini made his appearance in London, and public
attention was concentrated on him. All sorts of scandalous
stories about him had already circulated in England, as well
as upon the Continent. He was supposed to have murder-
ed his own wife, and during the years of his imprisonment
to have taught himself upon the single G string which re-
mained to his violin tiiose "tours de force " with which he
astonished foreigners first, and the English afterwards.
Then his avarice was supposed to border on the fabulous,
and his appearance reminded one of an apparition from the
realm of ghosts.

Mr. Embden (Mrs. Moscheles' father), a great lover of
music, had, previous to Paganini's visit to England, render-
ed him substantial service by securing him an engagement
of a most lucrative kind, which but for such timely aid, he
would never have succeeded in obtaining. "On his first
visit to us, his gratitude found vent in such exaggerated
expressions as are known only to an Italian vocabulary ;
we were the children of his ' onoratissimo, etc.,' and he took
down from the mantelpiece a miniature portrait of his bene-
factor, covered it with kisses, and addressed it with the
most high-flown epithets. Meantime, we had leisure to
study those olive-tinted, sharply-defined featuies, the glow-
ing eyes, the scanty but long black hair, and the thin, gaunt
figure, upon which the clothes hung loosely, the deep sunk-
en cheeks, and those long bony fingers. Our study and his
deluge of compliments both well over, we began to discuss
Paganini's plans, the first of which, that of playing at double
prices in the Italian Opera House, had come to nothing,



PAGAiVINTS FfRST VISIT TO ENGLAND. 169

owing, it is said, to the opposition of the Duke of Devon-
shire. Suffice it to say that only two boxes were sold, and
the concert had to be given up. This induced him to play
in the Opera House at the usual prices." We read later
on : " My assistance is of use to him here, and I am paid
with quite as many honeyed epithets as my father-in-law
received. This face of mine is as much kissed as my father-
in-law's painted one. Paganini often comes to us. We
receive him well, although I suspect he is rather loo sweet
to be genuine."

The impression made by Paganini at his first concert
was overwhelming. "The crowd in the Opera House was
wild with excitement. He had to play nearly everything
twice over, and was not only greeted with vehement clap-
ping of hands, but every lady leaned forward out of her box
to wave her handkerchief at him ; people in the pit stood
up on the benches, shouting ' Hurrah ! Bravo ! ' Neither
Sontag nor Pasta made such an impression here, much less
any other artist."

Moscheles complains in his diary of his utter inability
to find language capable of conveying a description of
Paganini's wonderful performance. " Had that long-drawn,
soul-searching tone lost for a single second its balance, it
would have lapsed into a discordant cat's-mew ; but it never
did so, and Paganini's tone was always his own, and unique
of its kind. The thin strings of his instrument, on which
alone it was possible to conjure forth those myriads of notes
and trills and cadenzas, would have been fatal in the hands
of any other violin player, but with him they were indispens-
able adjuncts, and lastly, his compositions were so ultra origi-
nal, so completely in harmony with the weird and strange
figure of the man, that, if wanting in depth and earnestness,
the deficiency never betrayed itself during the author's daz-
zling display of power."

The fever of enthusiasm continued, and to enable Paga-
nini to understand the rapturous phrases in the newspapers,
Mrs. Moscheles translated them into Italian for him ; these
encomiums, high-flown as they were, were outdone by Paga-
nini's own letters of gratitude. Paganini is frequently at
friends' houses, where he plays both violin and tenor alter-
nately in his own quartets. Mori commissions Moscheles
8



I/O



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



to write for him a piece, "Gems a la Paganini," but takes
the precaution of first securing Paganini's consent. A day
and a half suffice to complete this composition, and then
Mori and Moscheles go together to the wily Italian. Mos-
cheles plays to him his " Musical Portrait," a piece written
in close imitation of Paganini's roulades and cadenzas.
Paganini falls on his neck and smothers him with compli-
ments. "This wonderful imitation, this manner, this accu-
rate rendering of his cadenzas, he found ' stupendous.' "
At that moment of course there was but one Moscheles.
What was Hummel in comparison ? Hummel and others
had also written P'antasias " a la Paganini," but they had
displeased him ; he had protested against them. This ar-
rangement was the only right one, a real honor to him, etc.
etc. He went on in this strain : but we shall see further
on what amount of sincerity and truth lay beneath it.

Of course Moscheles heard him frequently, in order to
study his manner and style more accurately. After the
sixth concert he makes the following admission : '• My mind
is peculiarly vacillating about this artist. First of all,
nothing could exceed my surprise and admiration ; his con-
stant and venturesome flights, his newly discovered source
of flageolet tones, his gift of fusing and beautifying subjects
of the most heterogeneous kind ; all these phases of genius
so completely bewildered my musical perceptions, that for
several days afterwards my head seemed on fire and my
brain reeled. I never wearied of the intense expression, soft
and melting like that of an Italian singer, which he could
draw from his violin, and dazzled as I was, I could not
quarrel with him for adopting the ' maniera del gatto,' a
term of opprobrium, showing how averse the Italians are
to this style, which I dislike so intensely that I should only
like to hear it once in every leap year. Suffice it to say, my
admiration of this phenomenon, equally endowed by nature
and art, was boundless. Now, however, after hearing him
frequently, all this is changed ; in every one of his composi-
tions I discover the same effects, which betrays a poverty of
invention ; I also find both his style and manner of playing
monotonous. His concertos are beautiful, and have even
their grand moments ; but they remind me of a brilliant fire-
work on a summer's eve, one flash succeeding the other —



PA GAy/NT TIIREA TENS A LA WSUIT. i - i

effective, admirable — but always the same. His ' Sonate
Militaire,' and other pieces have a southern glow about them,
but this hero of the violin cannot dispense with the roll of
the drum ; and completely as he may annihilate his less
showy colleagues, I long for a little of Spohrs earnestness,
Baillot's power, and even Mayseder's piquancy. It may
possibly be that the man, who grows more and more
'antipatico' to me every day, prejudices my judgment of the
artist. He is so disgracefully mean. I can't vouch for the
truth of the story, that he gave his servant a gallery ticket
on the condition of his serving him gratuitously for one day,
but this at all events is certain, that Lablache offered him
loo/. to play at his benefit, but Paganini refused, and the
great singer had to allow him one-third of the receipts of
his concert. When the Opera concerts, thirteen in number,
ceased to command full attendances, he began a series
in the London Tavern, in the City. This was thought un-
worthy of a great artist ; but it was all one to him, for he
makes money there."

The letter which supplies these extracts was written in
July. A few weeks later, immediately afler the publication
of the second and the third book of the " Gems," Paganini
made a legal protest, declaring the work a musical piracy.
Of course this was a question concerning the publisher.
Moscheles however went to Paganini and asked him :
'•Why, didn't you give me your permission.?" xA.nswer :
" Yes, for the first book, but not for the second and the
third." The conversation led to nothing; Paganini went
to Scotland, and the lawsuit continued. On his return Paga-
nini visited Moscheles, and, after a great deal of circumlocu-
tion, offered him the free sale of the three books of " Gums,"
if he would consent to make a pianoforte accompaniment
for twelve small violin pieces of his own. Moscheles ga\e
a rather unwilling consent ; refusing, however, Paganini's
further demand that he should put his name to the title-
page. This point Paganini gave up, and then a discussion
ensued about the law costs. At last Mori was glad to be
moderately victimized, Paganini having at first talked about
no less than 500/. damages, and Moscheles rejoiced "at
being quit of an episode so little worthy of an artist, and
having done with those dreadful lawvers,"



172



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS



This business over, Moscheles applied with fresh zest
to his peaceful studies, but the folio vving note proves how
often they were interrupted. "All the would-be prodigies
from the Continent visit me, and I have had such heaps of
them lately, that I could almost fill an orchestra with the
new arrivals."

On the other hand, he had the pleasure this year of see-
ing m^ny intimate friends ; Paul Mendelssohn (Felix's
brother), Professor Fritz Rosen, and Klingemann. To
these must be added the names of Professor Grahl, a por-
trait-painter, and a young phrenologist of the name of Holm,
who was indebted to Neukomm for an introduction to Mos-
cheles.

That fearful scourge, the Asiatic cholera, made Mos-
cheles deeply anxious about his friends and relatives abroad,
and we find him writing to them : " True, when thinking
of you we have many an anxious hour, but my art, as well
as my trust in God's mercy, must help us to tide over our
anxiety." Fortunately none of his friends at Hamburg or
Vienna were attacked.

The great political reform at that time agitating Eng-
land is frequently alluded to in Moscheles's letters. It was
after the rejection of the Reform Bill and the dissolution of
Parliament that he happened to go to a ball in Camberwell.
"The most interesting part of it was the driving there and
back. You know, from the newspapers, that many people
illuminated in honor of the dissolution. Many, however,
refused to do so, and fared badly, for the mob smashed
their windows. The whole way to Camberwell, seven Eng-
lish miles in length, nearly every house was illuminated, and
many transparencies bore the most ludicrous inscriptions.
'The Bill! the whole Bill! and nothing but the Bill!' A
patriotic butcher flaunted the following sentiment: 'The
enemies of Reform, to be sent to the dominions of Don Mi-
guel' ' William the Restorer ! ' and ' William the Patriot
King ! ' were to be read a hundred times over, but the own-
ers of some houses obstinately refused to illuminate. The
principal streets were besieged by an enormous crowd
which stepped all traffic in the thoroughfares." At this
period Moscheles seems to have been ubiquitous. He was
present at the opening of the new Lonrlon Bridge, and sa.v



MUSICAL FESTIVAL AT DERBY



73



a splendid pageant upon the Thames. King and Queen,
with Lord Mayor and, Aldermen in their mediaeval dresses,
servants and retinue, made up a picture of costume that
took the spectator back to the days of the Tudors.

After a few quiet days at Richmond, Moscheles went to
Derby, to attend a musical festival, where Neukomm's ora-
torio, '' The Prophecy of Babylon," and his most popular
songs were performed. '" The mixture of sacred and secu-
lar music was rather too much for me, but I was compensa-
ted by hearing Handel's ' Messiah.' Among the singers
were Madame Stockhausen, Miss Masson, and PhiUips — ■
always first-rate."

" Derby. — The Committee is hardly satisfied with the
pecuniary results of the Festival, two hundred tickets at a
guinea each, two hundred at twelve shillings, and two hun-
dred at seven shillings, being all that were sold."

On Christmas Eve the Moscheles, after the good old
German fashion, have their gorgeous Christmas tree, and
Barry Cornwall and Neukomm add to the children's merri-
ment — the former writing a poem, the latter setting it to
music, with an obligato accompaniment of " Mirlitons."
Judging by the encores, which were no less than five, the
piece, with its chorus of sighs and the children's laughter
must have been a grand success.



CHAPTER XIV.

1832.

Moscheles as an Orchestral Writer — Death of Clementi — Genrian
Opera in London — The Italian Opera — " Robert Le Diable" —
Centenary of Haydn's Birth — The Elder Mathews — Pianists nnd
Prime Donne — Literary and Artistic Friends — Mendelssohn's
" Lieder Ohne Worte" — Art Congress — Anecdote of Schroder—
Moscheles' Birthday — Paganini — Visit to Berlin — Intercouise
with the Mendelssohns — Leipizg and Weimar — Souvenir of
Goethe — At the Pavilion, Brighton — Beethoven's " Messe Solen-
nelle."

WRITING about the Philharmonic Society, Moscheles
says: "I had the honor of being made a Director,
and I was elected, they tell me, without a single black ball ;
there are seven of us, however, six of whom agree in their
views ; they are the conservatives, while I alone advocate
musical reform. Several matters are uncongenial to me — ■
but I am out-voted. Grand orchestral works and quartet
music are played at one and the same concert, third-rate
singers are engaged ; the antiquated Trio by Corelli is to
be heard year after year, played by those old campaigners
— F. Cramer, Lindley, and Dragonetti, radiant with com-
placent smiles and triumphant airs. Lindley, with his
inevitable Cadenza, seems to lead up to a happy close, but
it is only to return to his everlasting arpeggios and flageolet
tones. It reminds me of the fly which will come back to
the sugar on the plate. And yet this has its charms for a
certain class of subscribers. No wonder they don't venture
on Beethoven's last quartets.

Moscheles gave his new Symphony, and played his new
C major Concerto. " 1 don't set much store," he says,
" upon the praise bestowed on my new things, for this
audience applauds even common-place music." The Sym-
phony was repeated several times, but Moscheles (who was
always a severe critic of his own playing and compositions)



DEA TH OF CLEMENTL— SCHRODER.



75



soon discovered his inferiority as an orchestral writer to
many of his contemporaries, and acknowledged that his
beloved Mendelssohn had already far outstripped him.
The instrumentation of Moscheles' G minor Concerto,
which to this very day is so effective, warranted people in
expecting that the composer, who was very young at the
time, would further distinguish himself as an orchestral
writer, and the ballet " Les Deux Portraits," composed in
his earliest days at Vienna, had won for him the favorable
suffrage of competent art judges; but Moscheles, although
he made some attempts later on in life, saw clearly that
the piano was always his peculiar and legitimate field — -that
in composing for that instrument he could benefit and
delight others. He therefore confined himself chiefly to
pianoforte compositions^ and not unfrequently introducea
into these great orchestral effects. In the early part of this
year Clementi died, at the age of eighty-four years, and was
followed to his grave in Westminster Abbey by many of
his brother-artists. The Philharmonic Society, wishing to
honor his memory, gave a performance of Mozart's " Re-
quiem," but that noble work was utterly out of place in the
midst of all sorts of secular music. Cinti on the same
evening created a "furore" with the cavatina from the
'• Barbiere," while no one seemed to understand Men-
delssohn's " Hebrides Overture," which was coldly received.
Here was a commemorative festival, vvhich did no honor to
Clementi nor to those who survived him !

The melodrama " Rob Roy'' — founded on Walter Scott's
romance — was successful, and at a time when the poet,
alas! lay dangerously ill in a London hotel. Braham, in
spite of his advanced years, was still admirable in " Fra
Diavolo ; " and the inimitable Mars as great as ever in the
part of VaK'rie.
. The German opera, with Schruder-Devrient, Haizinger,
Hauser, etc., had a long run of unbroken successes. Schro-
der's Fidelio, always grand, need only be alluded to in
these pages, which frequently record her triumphs. The
charming artiste used to sing in Moscheles' house, to the
delight of her host and hostess, and when they thanked her
she would reply, "It's a pleasure, children, to sing to you \
here I can do as I like, but oh ! the horror of a stiff Eng-



176



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



lish soiree, where the ladies stare at me, and quiz my be-
havior/'

The new director of the Italian Opera was Monk Mason.
He had bought the score of " Robert le Diable" for Eng-
land, but the pianoforte edition had only just been published
when the English theatrical managers laid violent hands
upon it, having it scored by English composers and sung
by English singers. "I attended," says Moscheles, "one
such mongrel representation, and found in that piece of
patchwork, ' The Demon,' Meyerbeer's best intentions
utterly destroyed ; fine scenery and ignorant listeners could
alone save this performance from complete failure. Drury
Lane, in rivalry with Covent Garden, wanted to produce
another version, and having better singers, partially suc-
ceeded ; still there was no Meyerbeer in it."

On the 31st of March, the centenary of Haydn's birth
was celebrated by a banquet, which is alluded to in the
diary. "Ninety-two of us musical men attended the din-
ner ; the ladies occupied the gallery. Barry Cornwall wrote
a song in praise of the great musician, and Neukomm
introduced into his commemorative ode a number of his
old master's most beautiful airs. Field, Bohrer, and I
played ; we had choruses out of the ' Creation,' and the
music was worthy of the occasion, but the endless toasts
spoilt everything. Not only did we drink to the memory
of the 'immortal Haydn,' but all musical celebrities, living
and dead, absent and present, were toasted ; the conse-
quence was that some of the executants' fingers were rather
heavy when it came to the second part of the music. We
Germans on this occasion had clearly the best of it,"

We again find allusions to formal and distasteful
musical soirees ; but on the other hand Moscheles speaks
with delight of Mathews, the famous comedian, who at a
private party improvised scenes illustrating the recerU
opening of the new London Bridge. " His changes of
voice and exquisite drollery belonged to a high order of
wit.''

On the 14th of April we read : " Yesterday, tlie Reform
Bill was passed, and to-day, at a dinner party, we heard
interesting discussions on this subject ; but, alas ! a great
musical soiree followed, attended by the whole Tory party



LITERARY AND ARTISTIC FRIENDS.



177



the Duke of Wellington at the head. One cannot play one's
best in the presence of these great men, who concentrate
all their attention upon an Italian prima donna ; it doesn t
matter whether I or any other artist plays the piano, they
don't care about it ; their applause on these occasions, I
regard as an expression of delight that they have got rid of
me. My wife and I sacrifice as short a time as possible to
such soirv.'es, and hurry home again, as soon as good man-
ners will allow us."

In the quiet of his own home, Moscheles found his real
element of happiness, brightened as it was by the faces of
many dear and distinguished friends. More than one is
still among us to remember that home where social inter-
course and the cultivation of art for its own sake were so
happily blended, and will recall to mind the image of Mos-
cheles as he w^ould alternately play, Hsten, or converse, or
as he would sit correcting proof sheets, not only of his own
works, but of those of friends who frequently deleg^ated
such duties to him.

Chorley, the well-known art-critic of the Athejimim who
now settled in London, soon became intimate with the
Moscheles' and was for many years their highly-esteemed,
generous, and often indispensable friend. The respected
authoress, Mrs. Bowdich Lee, whom Cuvier complimented
as a first-rate naturalist, was not only a constant visitor at
Chester Place, and a keen enthusiast for good music, but
she took pleasure in instructing and amusing the children.
We read in the diary of Meyerbeer's arrival, and of many
interesting meetings wdth that amiable and gifted artist,
who, as an old friend, soon felt himself at home under Mos-
cheles' roof, but the crowning joy of all was the arrival of
Mendelssohn, who, to the delight of Moscheles, appeared
in London on the 23d of April. "We had been long
expecting him, but a slight attack of cholera detained him
in Paris. He now swam back to us islanders laden with
his precious cargo of new compositions ; now the glorious
days return again."

— ' To illustrate the great intimacy existing between Men-
delssohn and Moscheles, we need only let the diary, the
record, as it is, of an almost daily meeting of the two
friends, speak for itself: —
8=^



178 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

On the 24th of April, the day after his arrival, Men-
delssohn, after dinner, played to Moscheles for the first
time his so-called "Instrumental Lieder fur Clavier," now
the famous " Lieder ohne Worte,"* and his " Capriccio in
B minor ; " '' all his music breathes spirit and life ; the
Lieder are full of deep feeling and tenderness, and his
' Capriccio' is suited to the concert room. \ He was par-
ticularly pleased with the Adagio in my new C major Con-
certo."

"April 25th. — Mendelssohn, Klingemann, Meyerbeer,
and Madame Schruder-Devrient dined with us. Felix and
I played his Symphony ; he made me repeat my Concerto,
and Schr.".der delighted us with her singing."

" April 28th. — Rehearsal of the Philharmonic Concert,
where a regular Art Congress assembled, including Men-
delssohn, Lablache, Field, and J. B. Cramer ; in the evening
we joined Meyerbeer in his box at the Opera, and saw 'II
Barbiere' with Cinti and Lablache; it was a first-rate per-
formance."

V " April 30th. — To-day Mendelssohn played us his
Cantata ' Die Erste Walpurgisnacht,' which I had heard
and admired in former days in Be;rlin. Now that he has
completely re-written it, I admire it still more. He also
played me that charming Liederspiel, * The Son and
Stranger,' written for the silver wedding of his parents, and
lastly his overture to the ' Hebrides.' My wife's invitation
for this evening he answered in the following way, ' I thank
Mr. Moscheles exceedingly for wishing to see something of
my new compositions, and if he promises to tell me when
he has had too much of me, I will bring a whole cab- load
of manuscripts to your house, and play every one of you to
sleep.' "

" May 1st (Sunday). — Mendelssohn and Klingemann
came to the children's one o'clock dinner. The former
gave me the score of his overture to the ' Hebrides,' which

* In the original MS. in my possession, the title-page, in Men-
delssohn's handwriting shows that he first named these '• Six Songs for
the Pianoforte alone," which he corrected to " Melodies for the Piano-
forte," composed by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. London : pub-
lished (for the author) by Novello, 67, Frith Street, Soho. Bonn, by
N, Simrock. Paris, by Maurice Schlesinger. — F. Moscheles.



PERFORMANCE OF " FIDETJO:



1/9



he had finished in Rome on the i6th of December, 1830,
but afterwards altered for publication. I often thought the
first sketch of his compositions so beautiful and complete
in form that I could not think any alteration advisable, and
during our stroll in the Park we discussed this point again
to-day. Mendelssohn, however, firmly adhered to his
principle of revision."

Madame Moscheles writes: — "Our interesting guests
at dinner were the Haizingers ; he the admirable tenor
singer of whom the German opera company here may well
be proud, she pretty and agreeable as ever ; we had too our
great SchrOder, and our still greater Mendelssohn. The
conversation of course was animated, and the two ladies
were in such spirits that they not only told anecdotes, but
accompanied them with dramatic gestures, Schroder, when
telling us 'how he drew his sword,' flourished her knife in a
threatening maimer towards Haizinger, and Mendelssohn
whispered to me, ' I wonder what John (the footman; thinks
of such un-English vivacity .'' To see the brandishing of
knives, and not to know what it is all about ! Only think ! '

We had the most beautiful music in the evening,

one artist surpassing the other.''

" May 7th. — To-day with Mendelssohn at a dinner
party, where he would not play, and Field was a poor sub-
stitute."

" May 8th. — A charming, homely evening with Mendels-
sohn and Klingemann : we cut a thousand jokes, while
planning our programme for our evening party on the loth
of May."

" May 9th. — In Meyerbeer's box to see the first German
representation in the Italian Opera-house. ' Der Freischiitz,'
was given, with Madame Meric, Maschinka, Schneider,
Haizinger, and Hauser the chief singers, Chelard conductor.
Everything went well \ the public called for the singers re-
peatedly, and cheered them enthusiastically."

" May loth. — Our grand soiree ; we had a happy union
of German and En^^iish music."

Between the nth and i6th of May, the f. lends met
every evening.

" May 18th. — First representation of ' Fidelio' for the
debut of Schroder-Devrient : she and Haizinger inimitable,



I So ^ ^ CEX T M USIC A ND M U SI CI A NS.

and the public so enthusiastic during the whole evening that
the 'Overture,' the 'Canon,' the 'Prisoners' Chorus,' and
the wliole ' Finale' were encored."

The following comic episode will perhaps be new to
some of our readers : — " In that deeply tragic scene where
Madame Schr 'der (Fidelio) has to give Haizinger (Flores-
tan) a piece of bread which she has kept hidden for three
days for him in the folds of her dress, he does not respond
to the offer; she in rather strong language whispers to him,
with a coarse epithet : ' Why don't you take it ? Do you
want it buttered ? ' All this time, the audience, ignorant
of the by-play, v/as iiitent solely on the pathetic situation."

" May 2oth. — Mendelssohn breakfasted with me, and
we began the day with music, and afterwards strolled into
the Park. In the evening Haizinger came, and I tried with
him a new variation which he is to sing at my concert, in
the ' Abschied des Troubadours.' '

'• May 2ist. — With Mendelssohn, at John Cramer's con-
cert."

" May 24rh — Second representation of 'Fidelio,' if pos-
sible, finer than the first. But is it credible that the Direct-
ors made Lee, the able violoncello-player from Hamburg,
play some variations after the opera was finished, and had
an act of ' Otello ' to wind up with ? We could not stay out
such a tasteless exhibition."

" May 25th. — After giving my inevitable nine lessons
I was permitted to enjoy Mendelssohn's society at dinner.
Jn the evening he played his charming ' Capriccio in B
minor,' at Mori's concert."

"May 28th. — Rehearsed for my concert 'Mozart's Con-
certo for Two Pianos,' with Mendelssohn at Erard's. Felix
dined with us, and in the evening we went together to the
Philharmonic Concert : he won a genuine triumph by the
performance of his new ' G minor Concerto.' Invention,
form, instrumentation, and playing : everything gave me
perfect satisftction. The piece sparkles with genius."

" May 29th. — My wife had prepared a pleasant surprise
for me. Mendeksohn and the German artists came to dine
with us on the eve of my birthday. Madame Haizinger re-
cited a Prologue by Klingemann, explaining that to-morrow
being a busy day, they had anticipated the celebration. A



MENDELSSOHN'S G MINOR CONCERTO. jgl

packet was then handed to me, containing a sheet of paper
on which Mendelssohn had transcribed a regular catalogue
of the themes of my works, illustrating them with humorous
drawings in the margin. I was, however, allowed no time
to study the interesting present, for a four-part song broke
in upon us ; then SchtGdes,*the Haizingers, and Hause, sang
a Canon by Mendelssohn, upon four lines of a stanza writ-
ten for the occasion by Klingemann ; the music founded on
the motive of my 'C major Concerto.' It was a charming
fjte for me, as an artist and a man."

" May 30th. — Mendelssohn, Klingemann, and our mutual
friend. Dr. Fritz Rosen, Professor of Sanscrit in the Univer-
sity of London, at dinner."

In the month of June we find Mendelssohn playing with
Moscheles at his own concert, besides giving a masterly
performance of fugues in St. Paul's Cathedral, and playing
at the Philharmonic Concerts, where he is obliged to repeat,
amid salvos of applause, the whole of his '• G minor Con-
certo." "The quiet evenings," observes Moscheles, "when
we chat and make music together, are incomparably delight-
ful. To-day we went carefully through his pianoforte duet
arrangement of the ' Midsummer Night's Dream ;' this is
just about to appear in print. The dinner party to-day at
Sir George Smart's — the first since his marriage with the
charming Miss Hope — was very agreeable ; the music was
worthy of the occasion."

Further on Moscheles writes : " Mendelssohn and I ad-
mire llorsley's glee 'Cold is Cadwallo's Tongue.' The
death of the Celtic hero could not have been bewailed in

more tragic tones than in this glee Again we agree

about Paganini; he has just returned to London and played
in public, but no longer exercised the old charm over us.
That eternal mawkishness becomes at last too much of j
good thing."

On the 22d of June Mendelssohn comes to take leave.
'' We were in high spirits, talked in riddles ; but when the
parting moment came, it was a melancholy business."

As late as the 24th of June we still find Moscheles busy.
" I slept for once up to eight o'clock. This morning I
listened, as I was dressing, to little Litolff, who had come
for his promised lesson. Then a hasty breakfast, but while



1 82 RECEiVT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

I was sipping my first cup of coffee, in came the Ladies B.,
who staid so long: that I had to make up my mind to
give Litolff his lesson in their presence. Next in turn was
a Viennese pianist, who brought a Rondo, the chief feature
of which was a ' Crescendo a la Rossini.' Close on his heels
came the two Eichhorn boys, who had to wait while I saw
the doctor. No sooner had he gone than I had the exquis-
ite treat of hearing the boys play, and as a finale : — enter a
musical friend, with an insatiable appetite for my perform-
ances."

The month of July, allowing for business '' poco a poco
decrescendo," ditfers very slightly from its predecessor, but
the hour of release is at hand, and on the 14th of August
Moscheles gets away for his quiet hoiiday-time with his rel-
atives in Hamburg. His ideas of happiness consisted, as
we know, in composing and playing; and this he did pri-
vately with the best artists of the town, publicly for chari-
table objects.

On the 4th of October the family went to Berlin to
meet Moscheles' mother, who for the first time enjoyed the
happiness of seeing her grandchildren.

Of course the great centre of attraction was Felix Men-
delssohn, and the house of his parents. The father was
Moscheles' confidential adviser in matters of business, and
as to music, Moscheles says : " I practice daily on Felix's
magnificent Erard, and he is going to lend it to me for the
concert ; we often extemporize together, each of us trying to
dirt quick as lightning on the suggestions inplied by each
other's harmonies, and to construct others upon them. Then
Felix, whenever I introduce any motive out of his own works,
breaks in and cuts me short by playing a subject from one
of my compositions, on which I retort, and then he, and so
on ad infinitum. It's a sort of musical blindman's buff,
where the blindfolded now and then run against each other's
heads."

On the nth of October Moscheles was present at a de-
lightful performance of the " Walpurgis Night,"' given at
the house of Felix's parents ; the solos were performed by
Mantius, the Devrients and Frau ThArschmidt. Beethoven's
Polonaise and Moscheles' Sonata in E fiat were played by
him and Felix, and Mantius and Devrient sans: from the



MOSCIIELES' CONCERT A T BERLIN.



83



Liederspiel, " The Son and the Stranger." It was a charm-
ing evening. A similar party is alluded to on the T4th of
October.

"Neukomm's arrival in Berlin was generally welcome.
Felix and I heard his oratorio, the ' Ten Commandments '
in the Academy, as well as the ' Crociato,' given for the first
time on the birthday of the Crown Prince. Unfortunately
the Crociato himself was quite hoarse, but Frau Kraus Wran-
itzky was excellent as PalmATa — the men nothing to speak
of; choruses and scenery splendid." The Moscheles ad-
mired in the E^ihibiiion just opened, ' Die Trauernden Juden,'
a picture by Edward Bendemann, a youth of twenty-one
years of age, whose great reputation dated from the pro-
duction of this work.

Moscheles says again : " I enjoyed the privilege, but only
once during my short stay in Berlin, of hearing Schleier-
macher preach."

On the 17th of this month Moscheles' crowded concert
was given at the Opera House. He says : " My third of
the receipts amounts to 301 thalers net. Graf Rc^dern, In-
tendant of the Royal Opera, met me in a very friendly man-
ner, and the public so heartily applauded my C major Con-
certo, the Danish Fantasia, and an improvisation upon 'Che
faro,' ' Voi che sapete,' and ' Namenlose Freude,' that I was
in great delight, especially as ray mother and my wife were
both present at my triumph. Felix supped with us at
* Jagor's.' He was in high spirits."

On the following day, the last that Moscheles spent in
Berlin, there was a matini^e at Mendelssohn's. Felix play-
ed, with the violinist Ries, Beethoven's C minor Sonata, and
Moscheles his Trio, the scherzo of which he was obliged to
repeat. At dinner the whole family begged him to play
once more at the Opera House, and Felix jumped up from
table to ask Redern if a concert could be arranged by Sun-
day. The answer was that it could not be done before
Wednesday, and this confirmed Moscheles in his resolve to
leave Berlin immediately, but not before he got from Felix
a promise, with reference to an expected event, that he
would come to London and be sponsor to a child, which, if
a boy, was to bear the name of Felix.

On arriving at Leipzig, Moscheles found two hundred



1 84



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



subscribers' names down for his concert ; the instrument to
be used was lent by VVieck, " whose dear Httle clever
daughter pls3ed to me."

The arrival at Weimar, and a visit to Hummel, are next
re::orded,and Moscheles, speaking of a dejeuner at Frau von
Goethe's, says : '' There was plenty of titled people who
made a great deal of me and my playing, but my wife and
I thought sorrowfully of Goethe, the great genius of the
place, who had died some months since. We were in his
house, but were not even allowed to see his own rooms, as
everything in them was still disarranged. Frau von Goethe
gave us, as souvenirs, a few fac-similes of the great man's
handwriting, the last medal that was struck of him, and a
lock of his hair. The ladies of the court were of opinion
that the Grand Duchess would keep Sunday disengaged for
my concert ; she was very gracious and well-disposed towards
me. There was au obstacle however, for the Grand Duke
had to receive two foreign ambassadors on that day ; I play-
ed once before the Court, was treated with marked kindness,
and presented with a diamond ring."

"October 26th. — Dined at HummeFs. We extempo
rized on the pianoforte, and delighted our audience. Hum-
mel, however, I felt, was no Felix. We were soon in our
travelling dress, and drove on to Erfurt."

On arriving at Frankfort, he writes : "Hofrath Andre,
in Offenbach, showed me an unfinished Opera, by Mozart,
' Bettulia LiJDerata.' The printed Libretto shows that the
composer, Gassman, wrote the music to it in 1786. An-
dre undertook to complete Mozart's work, and showed me
the score of his overture. I played it, and think it has
merit."

On the 7th of November Moscheles gives a successful
concert at Frankfort, and after fulfilling an engagement at
Cologne, hurries back to London. Once at Chester Place,
he records in his diary his delight at finding himself home
again, and the success of this winter campaign, adding:
" To-day, the first after my return, I gave a lesson to a
pupil who had been waiting many anxious weeks." On the
30th : "True to my habit of composing something new on
my wife's birthday, I began, this year, not as hitherto, a
mere trifle, but a Septet, which I am commissioned to write



THE RO YAL COXCER TAT BRIGHTON. j g C

for the Philharmonic Society. It is to be their exclusive
property for two years, after which I may publish it."

As he worked at the Septet steadily every evening, a
royal command to play before the Court at Brighton was an
unwelcome interruption, but being assured by a friend that
he would play immediately after his arrival, he started on
the evening of the nth of December.

"All alone in the Brighton coach with Goethe's *G'Jtz'
as my companion. Arrived at two o'clock, gave my letter,
but didn't meet a soul. Great crowds in the street on
account of the impending elections. The two candidates
paraded the streets with bands of music and the shouts of
their partisans. Theatre deserted, empty and cold, the
farce of Harvest Home' was a dreary ballet, but Mr. and
Mrs.Keeley in 'Master's Rival' were excellent."

" December 12th — Matters did not go as smoothly as
I had been led to anticipate, and from the difficulty I had
in procuring a personal interview with Sir Andrew Barnard,
for the purpose of talking over the necessary arrangements
for my appearance at the Pavilion this evening, I feared
that there was truth in the report that he was prejudiced
against German art, and reserved his courtesies for the
Italians. When at last he did condescend to admit me to
his presence, he apologized for having kept me waiting, and,
after a few polite phrases, asked me if I would try the Erard
in the Pavilion. I found the instrument stiff and unman-
ageable from having stood so long in a cold room, but I
was obliged to get my hand in somehow, and had not a
single moment to spare for rehearsal with the King's band.
We met in the evening in the fantastically decorated and
beautifully lighted music-room attached to the Pavilion.
The scene was a brilliant one. King William IV., Queen
Adelaide, and their suite, sat at the farthest corner of the
room. The guests were a long way from the piano, and I
was not presented. I played my new 'Fantasia upon Eng-
lish National Songs,' which was dedicated to the Queen.
During my performance the King alone approached me and
seemed to be listening ; he bowed condescendingly when I
rose, but did not say a syllable ; the company talked loudly.
Sir Andrew asked me to play on the organ, and later in the
evening had to accompany eight imperfectly trained per-



I 8 6 J^E CEN T M USrC A ND M U SI CI A NS.

formers, in some selections from Haydn's 'Creation.' Only
the Princess Augusta and the Marchioness of Cornwallis
took any interest in my 'Alexander Variations' and extem-
pore playing, and that in spite of the general buzz of con-
versation. Some numbers of * Robert le Diable ' were given
by the band, and the performance finished with God save
the King.' The Court withdrew after Sir Andrew had
handed to the Queen a copy of my ' English Fantasia,' an
honor I myself had solicited, but been refused. Sir Andrew
dismissed me as before with a few polite courtly phrases
about the satisfaction felt by their Majesties, but none of
the company exchanged a word with me." No wonder that
Moscheles left Brighton in a bad humor, arjd was only too
glad to get home again after this cold reception, if only to
forget the unpleasant impressions he brought away with
him. Mr. Grimal, a great musical enthusiast^ brought him
Beethoven's Mass in D (op. 123^ a work hitherto unknown
and unheard in London, requesting him to conduct it at the
house of Mr. Alsager, the contributor of the city article to
the Thn3s^ and a complete fanatic in his Beethoven worship.
In his large music-room Beethoven's works were given with
full orchestral accompaniments. On the 23d of December,
Moscheles first acted there as conductor of a most efficient
band, although consisting partly of amateurs, and subse-
quently his services as conductor were repeatedly called for.
" I had," writes Moscheles, "become by dint of study, com-
pletely absorbed in that colossal work (the Messe Solen-
nelle). Occasionally isolated phrases seemed unequal to
the elevation of church music, but these compared with the
work in its entirety, are as the details of a broadly conceiv-
ed picture. The enthusiasm of my English friends also fired
my zeal to give an interpretation worthy of the great work.
Miss Novello and Miss H. Cawse did their best. The
' Benedictus,' with the heavenly violin solo (Mori), enchant-
ed us all."

After Christmas, Moscheles finished his sketch of the
Adagio of the Septet, devoted a few days to copying the
parts and arranging the mus'c for the orchestra, and then
had the satisfaction of successfully rehearsing his music on
the 31st of December before some musical friends.



CHAPTER XV.
1833.

Concerts in the North of England — Birth of a Son — Congratulatory
Letter from Felix Mendelssohn — John Parr}- — Herz — Handel's
Messiah — Pasta — Madame Malibran — Chopin's " Studies " — Men-
delssohn in London — Illness of Mendelssohn's Father — Cole-
ridge — Moere — Lockhart — Seaside Music — Lessons given during
the year.

THE Septet, begun in the old year and finished in the
new, became a special favorite with Moscheles, and
with Mendelssohn too, who asked in his child-like modest
way, " Will you allow me to arrange it as a duet for the
piano ? " And later on, when engaged on the work, " Do
you like it ? — I am certain you would have done it better
yourself." We used to smile at such speeches as these, and
call them his '' culpable modesty " (frevelhafte Bescheiden-
heit), but were for all that quite satisfied" that the great
artist, underrating his own value, was thoroughly sincere in
what he said.

The following extracts from letters to his wife, refer to
concerts in the north of England :

"York, February 4th, 11.30 a. m. — The concert is over.
I may say, without self-assertion, that I was the only one
applauded at all this evening ; we had but one solo-singer,
a few glees, some miserable overtures, in which the flute
was the sole support of the harmonies. O, misery ! Any-
one less thick skinned than I am, would have died straight
off, but I could listen without as much as a fainting fit. I
assure you I was obliged to nerve myself, as I should have
to do if I were attending an execution. I was not only
enthusiastically received, but forced to improvise twice.
The singer, Mr. W., wanted to have ' The Midnight Re-
view,' accompanied by the orchestra, and at the rehearsal I
took all possible pains to make the thing go, but there was



1 8 8 RE CEN T M USIC A ND M U SI CI A N \

no rnore life or spirit to be got out of the band than from
Ftones or pebbles. I advised him to give up the band, and
offered my services to save a catastrophe, by accompanying
the cantata myself. At six in the morning I start in the
mail-coach for Sheffield, and as I have to pack ujd, I mu£t
finish."

"Sheffield, February 5th, 11 o'clock. — The concert is
over. To-day was a busy one, and while writing to you I
feel like a stage-coach horse just arrived, and steaming after
his work is over. I was up at 5, started at 6, here by 3.30.
Immediately went off to rehearsal ; then dinner and con-
cert. They wanted the ' Fall of Paris ' again, but I only
played the finale twice, and escaped a threatened en-
core of my extempore playing by bowing my acknowledg-
ments."

On the very day of his return to London, his son was
born. Great was the joy in the house of Moscheles who
writes: " I sat up half the night writing the happy news to
relations, and the expectant godfather, Felix Mendelssohn,
expressing to the latter a hope that he would come, and
hold the child in his own hands at the font."

The following letter, with the annexed pen and ink
sketch, came by return of post, in answer to Moscheles' let-
ter :—

" Dear Moscheles, — Here they are, wind instruments
and fiddles, for the son and heir must not be kept waiting till
I come ; he must have a cradle- song, with drums and trum-
pets and Janissary music ; the fiddles alone are not near joy-
ous enough. May every happiness and joy and blessing at-
tend the little stranger ; may he be prosperous ; may he do
well whatever he does ; and may it fare well with him in this
world ! So he is to be called Felix, is he ? How nice and
kind of you to let him become my grandchild in forma, and
the first present his godfather makes him is the above entire
orchestra ; it is to accompany him all through life : the trum-
pets when he wants to become famous, the flutes when he
falls in love, the cymbals * when he gets a beard ; the pi-

* The German word " Becken" has the double meaning of cymbals
and basin.



COA'GRA TULA TOR V LE TTER.



I So



3



^
^




I^O RECENT MUSIC AND M V S7CIANS.

anoforte explains itself, and should people ever play him
false, as they will do to the best of us, there stand the kettle-
drums, and the big drums in the background. Dear me !
forgive this rubbish, but I am ever so happy when I think
of your happiness, and of the time when I shall have mv
tull share of it. By the end of April at the latest I intend
to be in London, and then we will give the boy a regulai
name and introduction to the big world. It will be grand !
" \o your Septet I look forward with no small pleasure.
Klingemann has written out eleven notes of it for me, and
those [ like ever so much ; I can quite imagine what a



^ JEL ^




bright lively Finale they would make. He has also de-
scribed and analyzed for me the Andante in B flat major,
but after all it will be better to hear it. Don't expect too
much from the compositions 1 shall bring with me. You
are sure to find frequent traces of a moodiness which I can
only shake off slowly and by dint of an effort. I oitcn feel
as if I had never composed at all, and had to begin and
learn everything over again ; now. however, 1 have got into
better trim, and my last things will sound better.

"Nice it was too, that your letter really found me, as
you said it should, alone and in the quiet of my own room,
composing to my heart's content, and now I only wish my
letter may find you some quiet evening at home, with your
dear ones well and happy around you. We will see whether
I am as lucky at wishing as you were. I am in a hurry,
and must end. I had but half an hour to write to you in,
and that beautiful bit of art has taken up all my time ;
besides, I have nothing further to say but this : I wish you
joy, now and hereafter, and may we soon meet again. My
friends here send their kindest remembrances and congratu-
lations, and are well ; all but my father, who suffers con-
stantly from his eyes, and is in consequence much depressed.
This re-acts upon us, and we pray that there may soon be
a change for the better. My sister and I just now do a



CO^fGRA TULA TOR V LE TTER,



191



grerit deal of music ; every Sunday rnorning we have
stringed accompaniments, and I iiave just received from
the bookbinder a big grass-green volume of ' Moscheles,
for next time we are going to play your Trio. Farewell,
farewell, and remain happy.

" Yours,
" Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy."



" Berlin, 27th Feb. 1833.

*' Dear Mrs. Moscheles, — To day, although I car.
write but a few lines, I must send you my best congratula-
tions, and tell you liow I can enter heart and soul into
your happiness. How delightful it is, but I shall soon
make the personal acquaintance of the new arrival, and
how delightful that he is to be called after me ; mind you
wait, please, till I am there, so that I may really avail my-
self of the old invitation to the christening ; I will come
with all possible haste, and be in London as early as 1 can.
I'm glad it's a boy; he must become a musician, and what
we all would fain do, and cannot, may it be his destiny to
achieve, or if not, it matters little, for a good man he will
become, and that's the great point. To be sure, I see it
plainly, that the two grown-up sisters, Misses Emily and
Serena, will tyrannize over him ; by the time he is four-
teen he will have to suffer from many a side-glance at his
too long arms, and his too short coat, and his bad voice ;
but by-and-by he will become a man, and protect them in
their turn, and do the'm all manner of services, and he will
have to go through the boredom of many a soiree as their
chaperon. I am sure you are a little, perhaps very, angry
with me as being so lazy a correspondent, but only pardon
me, and I promise to amend, more particularly so when I
am once in London, and can myself carry and improvise
my answers and questions ; but I will improve even before
that.

" My sisters send you heaps of good wishes and con-
gratulations ;.so do my parents, and we all heartily rejoice
in the event of the hrst-born son. I must now begin the
last movement of my Symphony, which, lying as it does on



IC)2 RECEMT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

the tips of my fingers, spoils my style and robs me of my
time. Pardon these hurried lines ; you know how they are
meant.

" Your devoted

" Felix Mendelssohn"."

The question of shifting the place of their meetings gave
rise this winter to violent discussions among the members
of the Philharmonic Society. In the Argyll Rooms there
were boxes for the more fashionable members among the
subscribers, in the Hanover Square Rooms there was but
one large box (called the Royal Box from being reserved
for the Court) ; the proposal to have stalls was hotly con-
tested, but not carried. The orchestra was differently ar-
ranged in the new room, the basses being separated and
placed more in the background than hitherto, and on trying
the overture to the " Zauberfi^te " the new arrangement
proved effective. The programmes included among the
works of the great masters — Mendelssohn's Symphony in
A major, performed with great applause on the 13th of
May, and on the same evening Mendelssohn played Mo-
zart's Concerto in D in a masterly style. Hummel also was
heard in his new Concerto in F major, and Moscheles in
his new Septet written for the Society, accompanied by
Dragonetti, Lindley, Mori, and others.

At the conclusion of this season's concerts, there
was a first performance of Mendelssohn's Overture to
" Ruy Bias ; " the unrivalled Malibran appeared again,
and Moscheles was re-elected a Director of the Philhar-
monic.

Moscheles found an opportunity of introducing at Mr.
Alsager's meetings Beethoven's Sonatas, op. 109 and in,
and remarks : " 1 found some of my hearers listening with
deep devotion, while at my own house artists seem com-
paratively indifferent ; some certainly are moved, while oth-
ers are scared by the extravagances of the master, and do
not recover their equanimity until I favor them with the
more intelligible D minor Sonata."

At a concert given by the Royal Society of Musicians
" there was an amusing performance, for old Parry, dressed
in the costume of a Welsh bard, carrying his harp, sang his



OLD PARR V.—" PRECIOSA " VARIA TIONS.



193



national melodies. He is a favorite with us musicians, who
gave him a complimentary dinner and a present of silver
piate, in recognition of his many years' services as one of
our guild, and in token of his efforts on behalf of poor
musicians. His gratitude and emotion were very touch-

The influenza, which first appeared in a virulent form in
liOndon this spring, attacked Moscheles and his household
severely. We read : " We are now in the middle of April ;
my annual concert is announced for the ist of May, and the
indispensable novelty (with which alone 1 can meet my
public with a good conscience) has still to be composed.
How can I tell whether my fingers will be fit for action,
and whether 1 should not act wisely in giving up this con-
cert ? "

Mendelssohn came to London ; his visit seems to have
acted on Moscheles like a panacea, and the joy of see-
ing Felix once again to have contributed to his recovery,
for a few days later, Moscheles, resolving to venture on his
concert, the two friends determined to write and play to-
gether a piece for two pianos. They agreed on the necessi-
ty of a brilliant piece, but were at a loss to select one out
of a number of popular subjects. Several were proposed ;
at last the Gypsy March out of Weber's "Preciosa" was
chosen.

" I will make a variation in minor, which shall growl
below in the bass," exclaimed Felix ; " will you do a bril-
liant one in major in the treble.'"' And so it was set-
tled that the Introduction as well as the first and second
variations should fall to the lot of Mendelssohn, the third
and fourth, with the connecting Tutti, to that of Moscheles.
*' We wished to share in the Finale ; so he began with
the Allegro movement, which I broke in upon with a ' pii'i
lento.' "

In two days the music was written, and they went from
the Philharmonic at a late hour to Erard's, to have their
first rehearsal. " We found two pianos ready, and our
hasty patchwork delighted my wife, our solitary listener.
If this midnight pianoforte rehearsal was a hurried affair,
the orchestral one on the morning of the 30th of April was
still more so ; we had only half a band, in consequence of

9



194



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



the long rehearsal at the Opera, and only a few over-tired
players arrived, and hastily ran through the new piece. In
spite of all these obstacles the Concert on the ist of May
was a real success. Not a soul observed that the duet had
been merely sketched, and that each of us was allowed to
improvise in his own solo, until at certain passages agreed
on we met again in due harmony. The scheme which
seemed so very hazardous, ended triumphantly, and was
received with applause.

Mendelssohn, having undertaken the conductorship of
the D:isseldorf musical festival, was for a short time with-
drawn from his friends in London, but soon returned, and
this time accompanied by his excellent father. The two
friends were rejoiced to meet again, and, at the christening
of little Felix, Mendelssohn presented his godchild with an
album, which, in spite of the repeated calls on his time in
London, he had inaugurated with two sketches and a piece
of music. " One of these drawings is a view of our own
house, and the other a charming view in the Regent's Park.
The composition is the ' cradle song,' with Klingemann's
words, now so well known as ' Slumber and Dream.' There
probably never was a happier christening fete than that of
to-day. Our friends Neukomm and Barry Cornwall cele-
brated it with music and poetry."

We find several notes which illustrate the constant
intercourse between Moscheles and Mendelssohn. On one
occasion the latter answers an invitation thus : '' Alas ! we
cannot ! To-day we have a dinner party of our own. I
have just ordered salmon and lobster sauce for five people,
so I must ' present my regrets.' Seriously speaking, Rosen,
Henzler, and Klingemann have promised to spend the
evening with us, and therefore, alas ! we cannot come to
you. My father hopes to see you this morning to thank
you." Here is a note of Mendelssohn to Mrs. Moscheles :
"Dear Mrs. Moscheles, — Tt is two o'clock, I am just back
from the country and have received your note. At ten
o'clock I ought to have been in Grosvenor Place. I should
like to have done what you wanted ; but you must own that
the fates won't allow either of my appearing to be, or really
being fashionnble. Lately you were kind enough to say to
me that we might all three come to dine to-day (for Dr.



HERZ.—CRAMER,— HUMMEL.



195



Franck has actually arrived), but now I should like to know
if you mean this in earnest, or if you do ;/<?/, or if we may
come. Please send by bearer a verbal decision ! "

The answer was of course in the affirmative. On the
6th of May Moscheles complains : " How deadly slow and
monotonous was H. in his Fantasia this evening at our
house; Mendelssohn yawned an obligato accompaniment.
When we were once more alone, Felix and I had some
glorious extempore playing together."

H. Herz, the brilliant player, suddenly appeared on
the musical horizon. His rapidity of finger, his marked
accent, as well as his light, melodious, and easily intelli-
gible music produced a great effect. We read in the diary,
" H. Herz completely drowned me with his furious bass, in
the duet on subjects out of Auber's ' Philtre,' which I played,
as a favor, with him at his own concert." This duet, how-
ever, ultimately became a favorite.

Very comical was the contrast when J. B. Cramer con-
sented to play, as a pianofore duet, with Herz at his con-
cert, the brilliant ' Polonaise' of Beethoven. Moscheles
compares Herz to a "young frisky colt," and Cramer to a
" well-fed, cream-colored state-horse, harnessed on great
occasions to the royal carriage." Cramer and Hummel
played in this same Concert Mozart's Fantasia in F minor,
and that was far more effective.

The concerts now follow closely on one another ; in
that given by young Schulz, Moscheles took part, as one
of six pianoforte players of the "ZauberflJ-te" overture.
At Morfs he played with Mendelssohn the new piece on
the " Preciosa" march.

On the loth of July all the musicians gave a grand con-
cert for the benefit of a poor artist's family ; and Men-
delssohn and Moscheles were two of the players in a piece
written by Czerny for four pianos.

On the I2th of July, Mr. Hope, owner of the famous
picture-gallery, lends his house for a concert given for the
benefit of the Hospital for Sick Children. " The music, to
which I contributed my mite, was performed in the room
of the masters of the Italian school; if inclined to migrate,
one could enjoy a stroll in a room full of Dutch pictures,
but as Malibran and Paganini were among the performers,



196



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



every one was satisfied to stop and listen." On one occa-
sion, when Paganini ventured upon Beethoven's " Kreutzer
Sonata," Moscheles called it "a desecration."

Incidentally, we read of a performance of Handel's " Mes-
siah." " I swallowed my dinner hastily, so as not to miss
a note of this masterpiece, but, after listening with close
attention for some time, I was mortified at finding that
the small amount of vigor left to me after the rough-and-
tumble of the season, was not enough to enable me to take
in and digest such a colossal work. Such considerations
always lead me back again to the thought of enjoying here-
after in Germany the fruits of my independence, won by
my active exertions in England. What a melancholy even-
ing last Thursday, when I heard Pasta's ' Romeo ; ' she
sang terribly out of tune. This great artiste, long past her
prime, has lost her voice, and actually consents to barter
her reputation for a heap of guineas ; it shocks me."

The first performance of ''Euryanthe," on the 29th of
June, in Covent Garden Theatre, and the admirable sing-
ing of Schroder and Haitzinger, were some compensation
for Pasta's shortcomings.

At Drury Lane the sparkling, and in the vocal and
histrionic way unique Malibran made a "furore" in the
" Devil's Bridge" and " Sonnambula" set to English words.
She was thoroughly realistic, and in her dress and move-
ments despised everything conventional. Thus, in the
sleep-walking scene, unlike other great representatives of
the part, whose muslin njgligj would have suited any lady,
she adopted the boni-fide nightcap of the peasant girl,
and the loose garment of a sleeper ; her " tricot" stockings
were so transparent as to veil her feet but imperfectly.
Her acting in this opera was exquisitely touching, her out-
burst of sorrow so natural that she enlisted the sympathy
of her audience from beginning to end of the piece.

Moscheles' studies of Chopin's music led him to make
the following observation : " I gladly pass some of my
leisure hours of an evening in cultivating an acquaintance
with Chopin's Studies and his other compositions. I am
charmed with their originality, and the national coloring of
his subjects. My thoughts, however, and through them my
fingers, stumble at certain hard, inartistic, and to me incon



MENDELSSOHN.



197



ceivable modulations. On the whole I find his music often
too sweet, not manly enough, and hardly the work of a
profound musician."

Again we find Mendelssohn mentioned in a letter:
" What endless music we have made together ! I made
him play over and over again his own things, which 1
followed in the score. He would on these occasions imitate
some one wind-instrument, or take up a point in a chorus
with his clear tenor voice. Whenever he has arranged one
of his overtures as a pianoforte duet, we try it over together,
until we find it perfectly suitable for the piano,"

They often play to one another Beethoven's Sonatas,
which not unfrequently diverge into joint improvisations of
the maddest kind, and musical caricatures. On one occasion
the nursery song, " Polly put the kettle on," is chosen for a
subject on purpose to please the two little girls, with whom
Felix liked to laugh and play ; in a jovial mood he would
often take them to the Zoological Gardens, and amuse them
with all kinds of jokes. Among the many kind friends who
visited at Chester Place, the children had the discrimination
to fix on Mendelssohn as prime favorite. He and Mos-
cheles were mutually attracted to one another as much by
kindred tastes and sympathies as by music. Moscheles
admired his friend's genius, and watched, without a particle
of envy, the steadily increasing fame of the young com-
poser, his former pupil ; Mendelssohn, on the other hand,
was all devotion, all gratitude for the rich treasure of
experience which the older master had stored up in his
pianoforte works. They loved and esteemed each other,
these feelings were reciprocated mutually in the two families,
and the strength of this friendship was proved when the
days of sorrow came.

Mendelssohn, hearing of the death of his old master
Zelter, goes off in haste at an early hour in the morning to
Moscheles, announcing himself in such words as : ''I can-
not work, I should like to si:)end the day here." On one
occasion, Mrs. Moscheles being too unwell to accompany
her husband away from home, Felix goes to spend the even-
ing with her, and she records his conversation in letters to
her father. If Felix came to her complaining of weariness,
she used to make him sit down quietly on the sofa in a dark



198



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



corner ; there he would rest for a few minutes while the
children would stop their game and keep perfect silence.
Then, after taking some slight refreshment, he would rouse
himself and discuss with his usual animation some severe
musical rehearsal, a morning concert, or a political ra acting,
where he was constantly to be found. She could venture to
lecture him on his yesterday's visit, to tell him that he had
fidgeted and been fretful and impatient, in fact thoroughly
unamiable, whereupon he would say, " Yes, but why does
t/iat person come just at that particular moment when I
should have so enjoyed making music with Moscheles."
Whenever about to leave England, he asks her to write.
She is to tell him of this, that, and the other, for Moscheles
has so little time ; she promises this, adding, " But don't
answer; you are a celebrated man, you have something
better to do," — a thing he would never allow. In his
letters he frequently sends Serena messages about the
carnation, his and her favorite flower. In the midst of the
worries incidental to a musical festival, or on the journeys
which Moscheles and he take together, he would add some
words or pen-and-ink sketches to the letters of his friend,
and when abroad send a first copy of his later published
" Lieder," neatly written in the letter, immediately after they
were composed, to Mrs. Moscheles. " A little song has
just come into my head ; " or, " Here is a song; unfortu-
nately it does not suit your voice (referring to the tenor
song 'Leucht' heller als die Sonne') ; I send it, however.
Moscheles, perhaps, will hum it.' . . . Pages such as these
are carefully preserved among the family treasures.

During this visit to London, the elder Mendelssohn was
laid up for weeks by a tedious illness, and the family were
very anxious about him. His weakened sight made con-
stant reading impossible, so his friends, Mrs. Moscheles in
particular, spent all their spare time with him. She writes
to her father, " I read him the Times aloud, as I did to you,
and he gives me very sound views about the education of
children, I hope they will benefit my own, but whatever
amount of time I am in his company, the hours fly rapidly,
his conversation is so agreeable." On one occasion during
this illness, Felix sends the following note to Mrs. Mos
cheles : —



MOORE.— COLERIDGE. iQn

" My father begs to say that he cannot accept the offer
of your carriage to-day ; the Miss Alexanders have sent
him theirs ; but, that if you can make him a present of your
time, you will oblige him by walking over with it to' his
house. This is expressed in very bad style ; but anyhow
it's not your Platt-Deutsch, but rather my Berlinese' — no
offence — yours,

'' Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy.

" P. S. — Yesterday the doctors were very hopeful.
Brodie does not want to come again. Second postscript
(the chief point) : How are you t "

Felix did not recover his good spirits and capacity for
work until his father had been completely restored to
health, and the departure of their two friends on the 4th of
August was a melancholy event to the Moscheles family.

Among a number of commonplace and tedious soirees
mentioned in the diary, Moscheles makes an exception in
favor of one at the^Lockharts. "His wife, Sir Walter
Scott's eldest daughter, has all her father's amiability. We
saw there for the first time Thomas Moore, the poet,' a little
lively sparkling Irishman, who, on the strength of his pas-
sion for music, immediately made acquaintance with me.
He sang his own poems, adapted to certain Irish melodies,
harmonized and accompanied by himself on the guitar. ' Le
genre est petit,' thought I, but the novelty made it interest-
ing to us. The poet Coleridge was there too, still bright
and cheerful, although looking an old man. Of authoresses
we had the Ladies Stepney and Charlotte Bury. After
Moore had given us his Irish melodies, I was obliged to go
to the piano, and share with the poet the exaggerated com-
pliments paid us by the company."

In August Moscheles and his family went to Hastings.
*• What a pity," writes Moscheles, '• that a bevy of lady-
lodgers in the house spoil, by their strumming, all my musi-
cal enjoyment, not to mention my musical thoughts. They
play on the piano and guitar, * La ci darem,' as a presto,
and Reissigei^s Waltz as a sentimental Andante." To bear
this for any length of time was intolerable ; and, finding



200 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

no suitable lodgings in Hastings, the Moscheles withdrew tc
St. Leonard's.

On returning to London, we read of visits to both
Houses of Parliament, an interesting debate in the Com-
mons, whenO Conn-1 spoke, and of a four hours' discussion
on " Captain Napier's victory on behalf of Don Pedro."

On the I ith of November Moscheles writes: *' Yester-
day at the performance of Hamlet,' at Drury Lane, 1 was
forcibly reminded by a celebrated passage of what I am al-
ways preaching to my pupils, ' Self command in the midst
of a difficult performance, and a quiet mastery over oneself
The great poet makes Hamlet say, * Do not saw the air
too much with your hand thus, but use all gently, for in the
very torrent, tempest, and, I may say, whirlwind of your
passion, you must acquire and beget a temperance that
may give it smoothness," With regard to the first per-
formance of Auber's " Bal masque," we read : " The music
is often deafening, but often piquant, the ball wonderfully
brilliant."

Moscheles' chief employment this winter was composing
during his evenings at home the B major Concerto (fantas-
tiquej. Besides this he wrote the Impromptu in E flat major
and the more common-place Divertimento, " Operatic Rem-
niscences." His well-known good nature was put to the
test by frequent interruptions of these labors. " A friend,"
he says, " brings me his ' Swiss Divertimento ' for revision.
I deal with it as Kotzebue makes his amanuensis do, who
only leaves the words, ' My dear friend,' standing at the top
of the page, and adds the rest. Adding the rest cost me
two quiet evenings. A third I was forced to sacrifice to the
Hungarian Haron Rathen, vho wanted to play over to me
from beginnrng to end his ' musical love-scene interrupted
by a storm.' On his English card he calls himself Teacher
of the Organ, Piano, and Doro-Bass (thorough-bass)."

On the 31st of December, Moscheles writes in his Diary,
"On reckoning I find 1 have given this year 1457 lessons,
of which 1328 were paid, and 129 gratis. Of the latter
class, those I gave to Litoltf, who is making rapid strides,
were the most interesting."



CHAPTER XVI.
1834.

Stars of the Italian Opera — Grisi, Rabini, and Tamburini — De Vnigt
— Vieuxtemps — Lady violin-players — Festival in Westminster Ab-
bey — Distribution of the Chorus — Comparison of the two Festi-
vals in 1 784-1 834 — Solo-Singers — Tenor and Sopranos — " Israel
in Egypt " — The " Messiah" — Demeanor of the Audience — Fes-
tival at Birmingham — Overture to " Joan of Arc" — Byron's " Man-
fred" at Covent-Garden.

MOSCHELES writes at the beginning of the year,
'• We are in January, and already the chief topic of
conversation is the grand music festival to be given next
June in Westminster Abbey. It is the musical event of the
year."

Before that takes place we should record the sensation
created by the stars of ths Italian Opera, Grisi, Rubini, and
Tamburini. Grisi, although inferior as an actress to Pas-
ta, as a musician to Malibran, and lacking the charm and
loveliness of Sontag, still captivated her listeners by her
youth, beauty, and the freshness and glory of her voice.
Rubini maintained his long-recognized position as a master
of his art, and Tamburini, with his classical profile and fine
mellow voice, contributed his full share to the triumph of
this world-renowned trio. Ivanhoff, an Italianized Russian,
attracted the public by his great flexibility of voice, but dis-
pleased my German ear by using his head voice too fre-
quently, particularly when singing Schubert's " Serenade."
His sickly sentimental style became so wearisome, that
some wag circulated a joke about him, declaring his real
name was, " I've enough.''

Moscheles played his new Concerto Pathetique at the
Philharmonic, and directed on the same occasion Mendels-
sohn's still unknown overture to '' Melusine ; " both novel-
ties were received coldly. Mrs. Moscheles writes an ac-
count of the concert to Mendelssohn, whose characteristic



r
202 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

answer we commend to our readers: " So the people at the
Philharmonic did not like my 'Melusiner' Heigh-ho!
The news won't kill me. I certainly was sorry when I got
your letter, and I played off my overture right through, to
see if 1 too dislike it now; but it does give me pleasure, so
there's not much harm done, or would you have me believe
that you would receive me in a less friendly way at my next
visit ? That would be a pity, that would distress me very
much. But I hope not, and perhaps it may please some-
where else, or if not I will write something else, and that
may please better. But after all, my chief delight is in the
fact that such a thing exists in writing; and if besides that,
such kind words are bestowed on it as you and Moscheles
send me, it has been well received, and I can quietly go on
working. I utterly fail to understand what you tell me in
your letter, of the cold reception given to Moscheles' new
Concerto. I should have thought it as clear as noonday
that that must please them, and still more so when he plays
it to them. But when will it be published ? I am longing
to attack it."

We find Moscheles less inclined than ever to come to
terms with the Manager of the Italian Opera. He writes :
"Now I will see if I am not able to be quit of an extortion-
ate impressario, and to fill my room without the assistance
of his Italian singers. If I don't succeed, so much the
more shame for me, and 1 must hang up ' my harp and mu-
sic on the willow-tree.' " He did succeed, however, some
artists supported him, among them a new tenor just arrived
from Holland, De Vrugt, who soon made himself a name ;
he engaged Madame Stockhausen — the room was full, and
the audience enthusiastic. At the beginning of the season,
a host of artists put in an appearance ; among them Vieux-
temps, a wonderful boy, who attracted great attention by his
fine violin-playing. There were two lady violin-players as
well, Filiepowitz and Paravicini, who were much talked
about. Mrs. Anderson, the favorite English pianist, had
been selected by the Duchess of Kent to teach the Princess
Victoria. Her concert this year, patronized and attended
by these Royal ladies, was one of the most brilliant of this
season.

With regard to the festival in Westminster Abbey, it is



HANDEL FESTIVAL. 203

owing to Moscheles' scrupulous care in arranging and pre-
serving the accounts written at the time, that we are ena-
bled, after a lapse of eight-and-thirty years, to give an accu-
rate and faithful description of all that took place.
*' Handel," observes a writer of the day, '■ introduced the
oratorio into England : no wonder the festival named after
him should be held in Westminster Abbey, where he lies
buried." According to the paper we quote from, the pro-
ceeds of a series of Festivals between the years 1784 and
1791 amounted in all to 50,000/., and were entirely devoted
to charitable purposes. It mentions, too. the legacy left by
Handel to the " Society of Decayed Musicians and their
Families," and eulogizes King William IV, and Queen
Adelaide, who, after a lapse of fifty years, zealously pro-
moted this new festival, devoted to the same charitable ob-
jects, and for which the sympathies and aid of the English
nobility were called forth by the generous support of the
Royal patrons.

With regard to the festival itself, Moscheles writes to
his relatives : " The festival took place in the nave, which
was covered over with stout deal boards ; at one end of the
Abbey was seen the Royal box, with its heavy red satin cur-
tains, rich ornaments, and luxurious velvet carpets and
cushions, and adorned with the Royal Arms artistically
carved. The Directors of the festival sat immediately
under the Royal box, with a canopy above them. The pub-
lic, on this occasion, as in 1784, occupied seats arranged
in the style of an amphitheatre, and reaching as high as
the capitals of the pillars. 2700 persons found accommo-
dation ; the best seats cost two, and the others one guinea
each. These seats, covered with red cloth and gold orna-
inents, contrasted tastefully with the white and gold lyres
on red draperies, which were hung upon the walls. The
orchestra, on this, as on the former occasion, was erected
opposite the Royal box, and in the following fashion. In
front were the solo singers, then the small chorus, 40 strong ;
close to this chorus, at a piano, sat Sir George Smart, tne
director of the music ; behind him, the band, ranged in
tiers ; the cellos on either side, the violins in the centre,
then the wind-instruments ; above all, the magnificent organ,
built by Gray for the occasion, and adorned with a richly



204



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



carved Gothic facade ; by a clever arrangement the player
was made to face the Director instead of the organ. The
distribution of the vocalists forming the grand chorus greatly
prejudiced the effect of the music with numbers who were
packed closely in the side aisles and niches of the Abbey ;
in fact, the choral music to a part of the audience sounded
as though it were smothered by the orchestra ; in other
parts of the Abbey the effect was reversed, and the perform-
ance as a whole could only be enjoyed in a small part of the
vast building."

We give a list of the executants as represented on the
occasion of the two Music Festivals in 1784 and 1834 (the
list of the first is copied from Dr. Burney's Musical His-
tory) :-



Instrumental.


1834.


1784.


Vocal.


1834.


1784


Violins ....


80


•• 95


Sopranos ....


113


. II


Tenors ....


32


. . 26


Sopranos (boys)


32


. 47


Violoncellos . .


18


. . 21


Altos


74


. 48


Double Basses .


18


.. 15


Tenors ....


70


. 83


Flutes ....


10


.. 6


Basses


103


. 84


Oboes ....


12


. . 26


Solo-Singers . . .


5


2


Clarinets . . .


8




The above Instru-






Bassoons . . .


12


. . 27


ments ....


223


. 250


Horns ....


10


. . 12









Trumpets . . .


8


. . 12


Total


620


525


Trombones . .


8


.. 6








Ophicleides . .


2










Serpents . . .


2










Kettle-drums . .


3
223


.. 4
250









We quote from the diary : " On the 20th of June at
twelve o'clock in the forenoon. Sir George Smart for the
first time raised his baton, and Handel's Coronation Anthem,
performed by such a host, in such a place, was so grand that
none present are likely to forget it ; the newspapers talked
of several ladies weeping, and some actually fainting. I was
deeply moved by these sounds, and must confess I never
heard such an effect produced before. We had the whole
of the ' Creation,' and a part of ' Samson.' The solo singers
were old Bellamy, who had sung in 1784, E. Seguin, a young



PERFORMANCE OF THE " MESSIAH:



205



pupil of the Royal Academy of Music, and the admirable
Phillips ; the tenors were represented by Hobbs and the
inimitable Braham ; Miss Stevens and Madame Caradcri
Allan, both excellent, sang the soprano parts. The chorus
and orchestra were first rate, and the first day might deserve
to be called a perfect success."

The second day was opened by another Coronation An-
them by Handel ; and the " Hallelujah " electrified the audi-
ence. Then with a view of producing certain effects in
preference to giving any one work in its entirety, a selection
had been made of sacred pieces, in which singers, as
well as wind-instrument players, could have an opportunity
of display.

Everybody was to have his or her chance, Rubini, Zuc-
chelli, with Lindley's violoncello, and Braham, with Harper's
trumpet-obligato. Phillips had a song with a bassoon ac
companiment. Miss Stevens and Grisi also had parts assign-
ed them in this selection. Then followed the finest per-
haps of all Handel's oratorios, *' Israel in Egypt," which
was splendidly performed. The newspapers were rapturous
on the subject. With reference to the closing numbers of
that Oratorio, the Athenceum said, '' One feels so elevated by
this music that we seem to live in those great days w^hen
the Lord w^ent before His people in the cloud or pillar of
fire. But once let the celestial strains end, and we wake
again to the pale reahty of our shadow-like everyday exist-
ence." "My own impression," adds Moscheles, '"far ex-
ceeded all that I ever dreamt of realizing, and 1 believe my
feelings were in unison with nearly all of those who were
present." On the 3d day, unfortunately, a medley of airs,
choruses, and ensembles was again given; a programme with
abrupt transitions from ancient to modern compositions. For
the 4th day the Queen, following the precedent of Queen
Charlotte, had commanded the '' Messiah." To a German
musician it seems but natural that the chief interest should
be concentrated on this majestic work. The tickets for ad-
mission to the performance, as well as for the rehearsals,
were soon bought up, and the public, unable to procure any
at the regular prices, was forced to pay exorbitantly. Every
nook and corner of the Abbey was occupied, and a truly
devotional spirit seemed to prevail. The 2'imes, which during



2o6 RECENT MUS/C AND MUSICIANS.

the previous days had never resented the want of taste shown
in giving disjointed works, found room in its columns, when
the festival was over, for iinparting as a piece of advice :
"The effect of such performances would be enhanced, if the
oratorios were given, not piecemeal, but in their entirety,
just as the co.mposer intended they should be given." Mos-
cheles writes on this subject : — " The advice on this point
came certainly too late — of course to a German musician,
much of the arrangement of these programmes was an
offence, and yet the general effect was so grand that it would
be thankless to paint out the obvious anomalies. The ven-
eration with which the English traditionally regard their
noble abbey, found expression in the dignified attitude and
frame of mind observable in the audience, which crowded
within the sacred walls, and the thrill of awe which pene-
traled these large masses spoke more eloquently than any
cheers or clapping of hands. The King and Queen, who
attended daily, were regarded as the patrons of a great and
beneficent work, that was fittingly supported by the whole
nation. Such are my feelings — you may call them fanciful
if you please, but they were suggested to me by the bearing
and demeanor of the crowd that was present."

Moscheles had only just returned from the seaside, where
he had gone for fresh air and change, when he found him-
self once more obliged to prepare for a grand musical festi-
val at Birmingham ; there he performed his " Alexander
Variations " and the " Recollections of Ireland." The
powerful tones of the Erard were heard all over the colossal
and crowded hall, which was not intended for solo instru-
ments ; and the Spectator went so far as to say that a large
crowd outside enjoyed the performance. The proceeds of
the whole festival realized 14,000/.

" 1 6th October. — I was hard at work with my overture
to 'Joan of Arc,' " Moscheles writes, " when the fearful news
reached me that the House of Lords was on fire. The fact
was only too scon confirmed by flames appearing on the
horizon." .... When the overture was finished and arranged
as a pianoforte duet, he substituted for the brilliant and
noisy finale a soft pathetic strain, which he thought more
suitable to Johanna's death. On this subject we read in a
letter of Moscheles : '' In this overture I have aimed at ele-



B YRON'S '• MAKI-REDr



207



vation, harmony, and unity of ideas. Assuming I liave the
proper audience, the work might please ; but whoever looks
for trivial, easy, • Italian sing-song, will find nothing in it;
nor will those be pleased who think a minute working out of
individual parts, or the introduction of unexpected harmo-
nies, too learned. They just give the keenest relish to those
initiated in the secrets of counterpoint. I hold that the
treatment of a melody, and clearness as well as unity and
an interesting fusion of the leading subjects, are the most
important ingredients in a composition, and shall always

strive to attain these objects Mendelssohn's

Octet, in which you complain of an absence of melody, has
a tendency to the elaborate (k'.nstlich;, and yet the frequent
hearing of that admirable work, and that, too, in a spirit of
careful analysis, is well worth the trouble, if it leads to the
proper appreciation of an originality which never degene-
rates into anything extravagant There is not

much sympathy here with Spohr's ' Weihe der TvSne.' Has-
linger offered through me to the Philharmonic Society the
copyright of the work for two or three years, but the
Society refused."

" This winter Byron's ' Manfred,' with choruses set by
Bishop, was given as a novelty in Covent Garden Theatre.
There was an immense outlay in scenery and decorations,
the music was not much more enjoyable than that of the
' Bravo,' by Marliani ; a melange made up of the well-worn
phrases of Rossini, Pacini, and Mercadante. The beauty
of the mise-en-schie would have done equally well, apart
from the ear-torture."

" My wife," writes Moscheles, " who reads aloud to me
while I correct my work, happened at this time to select
' Uhland's Poems.' This suggested to me vocal settings of
' Der Schmidt,' ' Das Reh,' and ' Das Gartnerslied.' "

Towards the end of the year he was busy with prepara-
tions for a private performance of the " Israel in Egypt."
Some chorister boys from the Westminster Abbey Choir,
and some well trained amateurs, were asked to join. The
chief supporters, however, were Madame Caradori-Alan,
Rockel and Taylor. This performance was a worthy finale
for the year 1834.



CHAPTER XVII.

1835.

" Trial Night" of the Philharmonic Society — An Unmannerly Noble-
man — Litolffs Compositions — Berlioz' " Symphonic Fantastique"—
Musical Pains and Pleasures — Julius Benedict — Cramer's Retire-
ment — Visit to Germany — Leipzig — Intercourse with Musical Art-
ists — Felix Mendelssohn — Letters to Madame Moscheles — Con-
cert — Berlin — A Family Fete — Musical Absurdities — A Painful
Affair — Death of Mendelssohn's Father — Holland and Belgium.

AT the beginning of this year, the Philharmonic Society
held its first "Trial Night" for new compositions,
when Spohr's " Weihe der Tone " was conducted by Sir
George Smart. " This able conductor," says Moscheles,
*• succeeded at this first rehearsal in carrying the band
through the whole of the work correctly, although of course
without that delicacy, light, and shade requisite for so in-
tricate a work, the Andante of which, with its 3-8 and 9-16
time, constituted in itself a considerable difficulty. I fol-
lowed the performance with the score, and was delighted
with the solidity of the entire work, as well as the beauty
of its details ; still, the too great predominance of Spohrish
color and form to some extent quenched my enthusiasm.
Nothing but genius and wealth of invention can kindle me
into rapture."

When Moscheles conducted, there was a successful per-
formance of his overture to "Joan of Arc," and the youth-
ful Sterndale Bennett, a pupil of Cipriani Potter, played a
pianoforte concerto of his own composition ; Moscheles
thought highly of the performer, his playing, and the con-
certo as well.

Moscheles' services as a public performer and teacher
were in constant requisition at this time in Bath, Manches-
ter, and other places. In the midst of all his numerous en-
gagements, he never neglected his habit of writing daily to



JJV UNMANNERLY NOBLEMAN. 209

hh wife, but his letters at this period, being for the most
part of a domestic character, are omitted.

When once back in London, business engagements ac-
cumulate, and Moscheles might exclaim with Figaro in the
" Barbiere di Siviglia," "Tutti mi chiedono, tutti mi vogli-
ono." To one treated, as we have seen, with marked cour-
tesy by all with whom he came in contact, the following ep-
isode must have been eminently distasteful. " I had," he
says, " during the last season given lessons to two young
ladies, the daughters of Lord — . The treatment I experi-
enced in this household, where even the servants were dis-
respectful, was only to be met by the independent airs I was
forced to assume, to assert my rights as a gentleman.
Although not offered a chair, I sat down in presence of the
lady, and insisted on walking up the principal staircase,
although I was shown the back one. After waiting in vain
for nearly nine months for 35/. due to me, a steward appear-
ed at my house, and, finding only my wife at home, produc-
ed my account, on which the noble lord had written — ' Pay
this man 15/. on account.' My wife remonstrated, where-
upon the steward answered in a sympathizing tone, ' Well,
Ma'am, I advise you to take it while you can get it.' It
then occurred to her that, the family being reported some-
what impecunious, she had better accept the man's advice.
Soon afterwards my lady sent to beg I would again resume
my lessons with her daughters. I refused. Then came an
exceedmgly polite question from my lord, asking the rea-
sons of my refusal, and would I state them verbally ? etc.

I did so. Lord and Lady overloaded me with civility,

and I agreed once more to give four lessons a week. Such
people should be taught manners as well as music."

Moscheles says of himself in a letter: "I am always
longing to compose, but how am I to find time ? To be
sure I have published two little Lieder ; one a setting of
Byron's ' There be none of Beauty's daughters,' and ' Im
Herbste,' by Uhland. Owing to interruptions, I have not
succeeded in finishing my ' Concerto Pathetique ;' besides
these, I should like to write a new Introduction to my
' Hommage a Handel,' which I composed in the year 1822."
This intention he carried out at this period, and the work
in its entirety has frequently been performed in public.



210 I^E CEX 7 M USIC A XD M USJ CLl .VS.

Later on we read: "To-day Klingemann brought us
two organ fugues, arranged as duets by Mendelssohn. My
wife and I attacked them instantly; they are admirable,
like everything else that he presents to the musical world."

Just at this time Litolff published many of his early and
very promising compositions, and at the same time Chopin's
graceful " Scherzo" and "Grand Studies" appeared. "I
am a sincere admirer of his originality," says Moscheles ;
"he has given jjianoforte- players all that is newest and
most attractive. Personally, I dislike his artificial and
forced modulation. My fingers struggle and tumble over
such passages ; practice them as I will, I never can do
them smoothly." With regard to Berlioz' " Symphonic
Fantastique," which the publishers sent him in a pianoforte
edition, he observes : " I can hardly form an opinion of
the work before I know the score, but I cannot reconcile my-
self to the eternal unisons, octave passages, and tremolandos.
I do not find a iiealthy sequence of harmonic progressions.
His ' Dies Irae' and the ' Witches' Sabbath' seem to me
indicative of a diseased fancy ; and the development of
figures heaped one on another often ends in a tight Gor-
dian knot — who will cut it asunder ? The young man,
however, has warmth and poetic feeling, and certain isola-
ted passages remind me in their grandeur of an ancient
Torso."

Moscheles is amused and displeased alternately with his
strange experiences during the London season. " If called
on to reckon up our musical pains as well as pleasures, I
must compare the swarm of foreign musicians who obscure
the horizon, to the locusts which darkened the Egyptian
sky. One of our visitors carries the German simplicity to
such an extent as to speak no other language but his own ;
yet he travels hither on purpose to be recognized by the
English. In language and conduct he is an exact counter-
part of Dominie Sampson, and insists on bringing with him
each time his pupil — a tiresome young Dutchman. Yester-
day they both met with that strange fellow H — , with his
odd medley of French and German; the party were joined
by a regular John Bull, who speaks and composes only in
his own language. The result of these compounds is a
strange medley of discords'. At dinner, the German takes



ARRIVAL OF BENEDICT. 211

kindly to everything on the table ; but the Frenchman turns
up his nose at every little grain of pepper, and the English-
man, before he touches anything, covers the rim of his plate
with mustard, cayenne, and spices, so that it looks like a
painter's palette. Having to do the part of interpreters, we
didn't get much dinner, and it was all we could do to
smother our laughter ; for at last, in despair of communi-
cating with one another, the German and the Englishman
talked Latin, but were out in their reckoning — for each one
pronounced it in a different way, and confusion became
worse confounded."

In this year Julius Benedict first became a member of
the great musical guild in London, and asserted his posi-
tion at once as an excellent musician and pianoforte player.
His long residence in Italy made him peculiarly fitted as
an accompanist to the Italian singers : and in Moscheles'
house he was heartily welcomed as a distmguished com-
patriot.

J. B. Cramer, wishing in his old age to retire to Munich,
gave a farewell concert, and was invited by his friends to a
musical banquet. " We pianoforte players," says Moscheles,
" had selected Cramer's compositions for our performance ;
he himself played with much grace and delicacy Mozart's
Concerto in D. Lastly, when called on to extemporize, I
selected themes out of his works ; this delighted and aftect-
ed him also." Cramer did not long remain in Munich, but
chose to end his days in strict retirement in England.

In July, Moscheles writes: "The season is closing, and
soon I shall have no ladies' fingers to doctor. I cannot
undertake to doctor the ears of my pupils.'' He travels to
Hamburg, leaves his family there, and goes to Leipzig,
where Mendelssohn has just entered on his duties as con-
ductor of the Gewandhaus Concerts. He writes from
Leipzig : —

" My Dear Wife. — You may fancy how I enjoy this
meeting with my mother and sister. Kistner, who is very
zealous in my interests, accompanied me to Mendelssohn,
who is comfortably and agreeably settled outside the town,
in Reichel's Garden. He received me with his usual sim-
plicity and heartiness, making eager, nay, affectionate in
quiries for you. I don't think him looking handsomer or



212 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

more blooming (being as he is between youth and man-
hood), but he was more full of wit, liveliness, and clever-
ness than ever. He played me three new ' Lieder ohne
Worte,' which are worthy successors to those already writ-
ten. I have played him nothing of my own as yet. My
mother looks remarkably well. People on all sides call
her a handsome old lady, and she really seems to me much
younger than she is. I visited the Wiecks, and Clara
played to me a good deal ; among other things a manuscript
sonata by Schumann — very labored, difficult, and some-
what intricate, although interesting music. Her playing
was admirable, and void of all affectation. After dinner, I
returned to my mother's, and then adjourned with Felix to
Hauser's for a cup of coffee. We amused ourselves by
serious and desultory playing upon his Streicher piano,
which I shall probably bespeak for my concert, although
Felix has offered me his own. Felix took me afterwards
to Dr. Hiirtel's new country-house, close to the rampart.
In the evening I was again at the Wiecks, to meet Schu-
mann, who is a retiring but interesting young man. Again
I made Clara play to me, and again she distinguished her-
self. I gave them a taste of my extempore playing."

On the 2d of October he writes : "8 a. m. — I expect
Felix ; meanwhile I will begin the day as I like best, by
asking after you and the children. Is Emily composing?
Serena learning an epic poem by heart ? Felix storming a
fortress somewhere? On all these points I hope informa-
tion is on the road to me. Nine o'clock — Felix is here, and
I am going with him to his lodgings, to hear him play over
his new oratorio." " And now" — Mendelssohn adds — "let
me slip in with all haste between the envelope and wafer,
my hearty greetings and thanks. I hope one of these days
to write more fully ; at present we are in all the hurry and
confusion of ^Moscheles' first day, and all my morning will
be occupied in hearing a deal of his new music. You may
fancy how eagerly I look forward to that! But you really
spoil me by sending me such a wonderfully pretty present.
We must be off; good-bye for to day. My love to your
little ones, among whom Emily can't any longer be
reckoned."

On the following day, Moscheles says : " Kistner



MEyDELSSOHN ''EN GAPCONr



213



accompanied me on a visit to that dear venerable old man.
Hofrath Rochlitz, who received me most kindly, and was
very communicative. After expressing his gratification
with my present visit, my playing, and my compositions, he
recapitulated the various impressions which I made on him
since my first appearance with the Alexander March in the
year 1815, and said many flattering things about my devel-
opment in art. He was to me quite as interesting as his
' Essays for Musical Amateurs,' the reading of which we
used to enjoy. Towards evening I spent an hour with my
mother, amusing her with stories about our London life.
1 then went to Felix, who asked me to drink tea with him
every evening ; he is very comfortably settled — it reminded
me of my own bachelor days. His Erard stands in the
middle of the room, and in his book-case — a perfect store-
house of musical scores — T saw a splendidly-bound edition
of Handel. On the table his silver inkstand, presented by
the Philharmonic Society, on the walls two charming
engravings, one of Titian's daughter; and the other a por-
trait of Schcitzel (a celebrated singer), on the piano a
delightful litter of scores and new music, still cleanliness
and neatness prevailing everywhere. We drank tea and
chatted until the advocate Schrey (one of the concert-
directors) joined us. He is a musical enthusiast, with a
fine tenor voice, and sang a couple of delightful new Lieder
by Felix, which I hope to copy and bring to you. I played
my ' Concerto Fantastique' and the ' Pathetique,' about
which many kind things were said, and lastly the Rondo
which Felix dedicated to me. We played together my
Overture and his Octet ; everything went smoothly, as you
may fancy. We went on till eleven o'clock, and Felix lent
me his cloak, that I should not catch cold after the number
of ' hot notes.' He is a glorious fellow. By-the-by, Felix
cheerfully consented to play my last duet with me at my
concert, but the Committee must be duly apprized of the
fact. Yesterday, when he called upon my mother, she
wanted him to play, but he had a fit of his well-known
modesty, and declined". I must now tell you what befell

me to-day I went with Felix to the rehearsal ; his

admirable conducting, speeches, and observations — in fact,
his general behavior to the orchestra — fills his subordinates



2 1 4 KE CEiV T M USIC A ND M U SI CI A .\ 'S.

with affection and respect. His overture to the ' Calm Sea
and Prosperous Voyage' (of which one can get no idea
from the pianoforte arrangement), as well as Beethoven's B
flat Symphony, went beautifully. The rehearsal lasted
until 12.30 ; then I went to my mother, and thence with
Felix to the table d'hote. We were invited to Wieck's to
meet Schumann and others ; Clara Wieck played in Beet-
hoven's great Trio superbly. I went to the theatre to hear
Auber's ' Cheval de Bronze ; ' but oh, misery ! bad music,
singers, and subject ! What a pity to lose my evening, and
be forced to pay dearly for my curiosity ! "

" Eleven at night. — Late as it is, I must tell you that I
made my concert arrangements with Kistner, and then went
to Felix, with whom I tried over, from the proof-sheets, my
'Hommage a Handel,' but in a curious manner. He has
but one piano — his own Erard— but he remembered to have
heard some one practicing occasionally in the next room,
occupied by an elderly lady. Before his door, leading to
her room, stood a w^ooden press, too big to be moved with-
out great trouble. Felix went to the lady, and asked her
leave to play in her room while I played in his ; the lady
gladly consented ; we opened the doors, but the press
remained immovable. The ihstruments happened to be in
tune together, and the whole thing went capitally ; Kistner,
and an organist of the name of Reichard, were present, and
were so delighted that we determined to play this piece at
my concert. Among the new things which Felix played
again to me are two pianoforte Capriccios and a Fugue in
quick-time in F minor — all admirable in their way. We
dined at Hauser's (the bass singer at the theatre and Felix's
intimate friend), and after dinner played all sorts of music,
grave and gay, upon his Streicher, which he lends me for
my concert. Felix played me a Concerto by J. S. J)ach,
out of Hauser's fine collection ; Hauser then sang a very
funny song by the old composer Hiller, in which the word
' nose' plays a conspicuous part. I intend to copy it and
bring it to you. (Hauser wished to do this himself, and
sent the song to Mrs. Moscheles, who still has it.) I took
my mother and sister to the subscription concert, and re-
mained the whole evening with them. Felix was very well
received. His ' Meeresstille' was delightful, and received



BACH'S CONCERTO. 215

with great applause. The rest I will tell >ou by word of
mouth. After the concert I took my ladies home, met
Felix and Hauser at supper in the hotel, afterwards accom-
panied and walked home with them in the bright moonlight,
and now I bid you good night."

"October 5, 11.30 p. m. — I am just entering my room,
which I have not seen since early this morning : only fancy,
I could not have a piano in it, there is such a dearth of good
instruments in Leipzig. Your letter came early to hand.
Felix and I are so glad you have been playing his Octet.
He tells me how grieved he is at not having as yet been
able to thank you m writing. In fact he speaks of his grat-
itude as he would write it. . . . Table d'hote, with Schumann,
the tenor, Wild, and others."

"October 6. — I went on with my letter at noon, when
all business in Leipzig, save that of knife and fork, is at a
stand-still. I wanted, just now, to go through my part of
Bach's triple concerto, but found all the pianoforte ware-
houses shut. I had no time to go to Felix before dinner at
one o'clock ; I am sure to do justice to it, for I am in un-
usually good health here. To-day I visited my mother, and
amused her with my album. I have come across a little
volume called ' Bettina's Diary,' which precedes her corre-
spondence with Goethe. If you are curious in the matter,
you can easily get a copy."

"Five in the afternoon. — I am just come from Wieck's,
where Clara played admirably in one of Schubert's trios.
Bach's Concerto for three pianos, performed by her, Felix,
and myself, was very interesting ; I am having it copied for
London. You ought to have seen poor Felix accompanying
a very inferior singer, and watched him as he sat on the
stool of penitence, with thirty listeners around him. His
eyes sparkled like those of a baited tiger, and you could
hive lit a candle at his cheeks, they burned so. 1 am just
going to mark my newly-printed concert tickets. I miss
your helping hand, but as I write each separate ticket, I
can think quietly of you, which is a delightful feeling. To-
day Felix told me the Directors wished me to play next
Sunday in the second subscription concert. He advised me
to make them give me room and lights, gratis, for my con-
cert, instead of the customary five or six louis d'or, and I



2 I v5 RE CEN T M USIC AND M USICIA NS.

find he is right. One thought troubles me about my return
home. The coach only goes on Monday mornings early at
five, and on Tuesday evenings at nine. The first is too near
to the Concert, the second too late for my impatience."

"October 9. — I am writing to you just after I have re-
ceived your letter. . . . My one absorbing thought is when
I shall talk to you. On Sunday I play at the subscription
concert my G minor Concerto, and I hope I shall find some
time for writing before the coach leaves. My concert will
be a brilliant one this evening ; there is a great rush for
tickets ; seven hundred and fifty are already disposed of,
and probably as many will have to be sent back from the
doors. My mother and sister send best love."

" October 10. — I wish I could sjive the post wings to tell
you the news of my unusually brilliant concert at Leipzig.
The crowd was immense. My mother felt quite young
again. My overture was admirably played. The Con-
certos 'Pathetique' and ' Fantastique' received with immense
applause. My duet with Felix created a regular ' furore.'
They wanted to encore it, but we resisted, the heat was so
great. My Fantasia, too, was very well received. The
gross receipts were 497 thalers, expenses 70 thalers, so
there is a surplus of 427. By playing at the subscription
concert I shall defray the other expenses. Besides the G
minor Concerto, which went very well at the rehearsal to-
day, my overture was repeated, as well as our duet, which
we played by request. Felix is so good to me, so amiable
and unpretending; he told me that, before I came, he had
been thinking, and hoping, and wondering whether 1 would
like to play a duet with him, and how he intended to have
, written to me on the subject. He is idolized here, and lives
on the most friendly terms with many musicians and nota-
bilities, although he is intimate with but few, and reserved
towards many. He is particularly attentive to my mother.
You are right; my intercourse with him quickens my ener-
gies, independent of the pleasure I have in his society."

" Sunday. — We had to attend a dinner, which was any-
thing but pleasant, and when we went away together, Felix
fired off a volley of indignation. I spent one part of the
evening with my m.other, and the other t<}te-a tcte with Felix.
We drank tea^ and after a cosy chat he played me several



MOSCHELES IN BERLIN. 217

of his glorious fugues, and ' Lieder oiine Worte' (manuscript).
To-morrow, early, my mother leaves us. My time will
hang heavy when she goes, but I must act like a man."

" Afternoon. — I have just come from a very pleasant
dinner at Kistner's. Hauser, Dr Schleinitz, Weise, Fink,
and others were there, and I write you a few lines before I
dress for the concert. Felix had just heard that his young-
est sister had arrived ; his parents write, asking me to take
her on to Berlin, and stay with them ; Felix begs me to do
this, but I don't know if I can spare the time. Before din-
ner Felix and I went to my mother's house, where he played
a great deal to her. Adieu ! Au revoir ! "

The next letter is dated from Berlin : " 14th October.
I received your letter, with which I was delighted, on Mon-
day, at Leipzig. After my mother's departure it came like
soothing balsam."

" Monday. — Now that you had encouraged me so heart-
ily, I felt inclined to allow myself the trip to Berlin. You
set all my doubts at rest. Felix and I accompanied his
sister hither. Monday night we were up till twelve o'clock
at a party given by Hartel, where I played solos and duets
with Felix ; then I packed my things from one to two, and
by six A. M. we were seated in the carriage. We had plenty
of cheerful and delightful talk — you were a constant topic.
Felix, whose sister is a very nice, amiable creature, had sent
a letter to his parents, giving them notice of our intended
arrival, but the letter miscarried, for, when we came after
midnight, not a soul was stirring. The servants had to
prepare our beds as best they could. There was nothing to
eat, and we were all ravenous, so a big slice of my cake,
brought by my mother from Prague, did excellent service.
The meeting of the aged parents and their children next morn-
ing was a family fote, and gave me, a mere spectator, feelings
of indescribable delight. This was enhanced by the fact of
my being received and welcomed as affectionately as if I
were a son. I see I shall be besieged on all sides, to aban-
don my purpose of starting off agam this evening, and that
it will end in my leaving Berlin twenty four hours later. My
nights, which have been broken into, my happy time here,
and your words of encouragement, will, 1 suppose, make me
fix on to-morrow."



2 1 8 RECENT M USIC A ND M U SI CI A NS.

Felix adds : —

"If you want to be angry at Moscheles' staying away
from you a few days longer, you must be wroth with the
whole of No. 3, Leipziger Strasse ; they are all guilty. He
wanted to go away, although he only came yesterday (or
rather to-day) at half-past one in the morning ; but we hum-
bly memorialized him and would have called in the police
to detain him ; besides, you will have him again in Hamburg,
and Holland, and London, whereas we must separate to-
morrow, and shall not exchange words for a long time to
come. In short, I entreated him, as fervently as I could,
and hope you will put yourself in my position, for then I am
sure you would have done just the same thing; when you
meet, Moscheles will bring you all my and our greetings.
The post is just going, so farewell, and don't be angry with
" Your sincere friend,

*'F. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy."

In addition to this, Felix's father had dictated to him
the following lines. " I must add my best remembrances,
and in telling you of my delight in the unexpected visit of
our excellent friend brought here by Felix, express my re-
gret at the shortness of his stay. Pray accept my thanks
for prevailing on him to give up this real pleasure. I hope
you will thank me too for having induced Moscheles, after
travelling all night, not to start off again this evening in a
'Beiwagen,' whereas to-morrow evening he will have a
place in the ' Postwagen.' Farewell, and remember me
kindly, etc , etc."

During this short visit Moscheles was an eye-witness of
Felix's child-like sunny cheerfulness and perfect happiness
in the bosom of his family. In a letter which Moscheles
wrote to his wife late one evening, he says : "We have had
a regular day of it. First of all I played with Felix Mo-
zart's ' Duet in D,' for two pianofortes ; and my ' Hommage
a Handel.' We then allowed ourselves all manner of ex-
travagances, extemporized jointly and alternately on two
pianos — an intellectual sort of tournament. I played Felix's
' Rondo Brillant in E flat,' and my ' Concerto Fantastique,'
he supplying a substitute for an orchestral accompaniment
on a second piano. We played by turns his 'Lieder ohne



^IIE MENDELSSOHN EAMILV



J9



\Vorte,' and then perpetrated all sorts of musical absurdities.
Fanny Hensel pleased me immensely by the playing of her
own compositions ; Felix and I had a good hunt in his col-
lection of old music. Suffice it to say, I shall never forget
the hours I passed here, and I unwillingly part from my de-
lightful hosts, but I must pay a visit here and there before I
leave."

During this short stay in Berlin, curiously enough, the
theft practiced on Moscheles in the year 1823, and mention-
ed in page 54 of this volume, was once more brought under
Moscheles' notice. He knew well enough who had defraud-
ed him, but the young man's confession and repeated prom-
ises to restore the property, induced Moscheles to abandon
all idea of going to law. On the eve of Moscheles' depart-
ure from Berlin, the young man writes that he has met and
recognized him in the streets, invokes on him all kinds of
blessings for his forbearance, and, after informing him how
he has hitherto subsisted as a literary man, ends by saying
that he is unable at present to compensate Moscheles for
his loss, offering however to give him a written acknowl-
edgment of the debt. Moscheles declines this as an un-
necessary formality, but on being told, by Felix's father,
that the young man belongs to a respectable family in Ber-
lin, requests the elder Mendelssohn to act on his behalf, and
obtain, through some other member of the family, a restitu-
tion of the property. Several letters during the next fev/
days pass on the subject, when on the 29th of October he
hears of the young man's sudden death. Mr. Mendelssohn
then offers to proceed in the matter, and writes : —

" The whole history, told in your simple language, is
certainly a wonderful one, and illustrating, as it does, your
discretion, kindness, and forethought, reminds me of Schil-
ler's golden words, ' Und die Tugend, sie ist kein leerer
Schall ! ' (xA-nd virtue is no hollow sound.) Unhappily the
poor young man had no opportunity of redeeming himself;
after making so many false steps, one would have hoped he
had just begun to improve — that again reminds me of the
golden rule of the Rabbis : ' Bessere dich eine Stunde vor
deinem Tod (Try to improve an hour before your death).'
Further, it shows how talent and the best education are
mere delusions, which lead their possessor to certain de-



220 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

strnction, if the true inner light, character, and conscience
do not sustain him in the right path. It shows, moreover,
that all sin avenges itself in this world. " Well, 'Requies-
cat in pace.'

" Always yours,

*' A. Mendelssohn Bartholdy."

The sequel of this episode was as melancholy as it was
unexpected. Felix's honored father, Moscheles' faithful
friend, died on the 19th of November in the same year, and
the blow so prostrated Moscheles as to make him utterly
indifferent to take any further action. To institute legal
proceedings was utterly distasteful to him. He remained a
considerable loser ; the family of the young man, although
reputed wealthy, having never thought it worth the trouble
to clear the memory of their relative.

After a short stay at Hamburg with his relatives, the
last two months of the year were devoted by Moscheles to
the pains and pleasures of concert-giving in Belgium and
Holland. Writing from Amsterdam, he observes : " I
can't complain of the phlegmatic Dutch. In the year 1820
I enjoyed the hospitality of my friends the Konigswarters,
and there wrote my Concerto in G minor, which was re-
ceived as warmly as my subsequent compositions are now.
I must play everywhere, and the pecuniary results are very
gratifying." " But," adds Mrs. Moscheles, "in spite of all
the musical honors heaped on my husband, we find some
odd customs here. At the Subscription Concert, the first
part is scarcely finished when all the gentlemen vanish.
Where are they ? My olfactory nerves soon answer the
question, as the tobacco fumes issue from the adjoining
room. The ladies meanwhile drink chocolate and lem-
onade, and I, in my solitude, found time for studying the
bareness of the four whitewashed walls of the concert room."
Moscheles, here as elsewhere, complains of the bad orches-
tra. "The Directors take every imaginable pains. I my-
self seldom sit at the piano, when I rehearse a concerto, but
run about between the leading violin and double drum, up
and down, whispering the note into the ear of every player;
after all my trouble, the music will not ' go.' I often omit
a difficult Adagio, and in Rotterdam, where I had a very



CONCER TS IN HOLLAND. 2 2 1

poor instrument to play upon, extemporized on Mozart's
air, * I can do nought but pity you,' and applied the words
to myself. In spite of a violent attempt to encore me, I
would not a second time face a struggle with the refractory
keys of the pianoforte."

The troubles of concert-giving in the Belgian towns are
largely compensated for by visits to the galleries, churches
and museums. Once returned to England, Moscheles can
look back upon Holland as a store-house of happy memo-
ries for future years.



CHAPTER XVIII.

1836.

Letters from Members of the Mendelssohn Family — Br.iham st ^■
James' Theatre — Malibran — Thalberg — De Beriot — John l^arry —
The Duke of Brunswick's Bouquet — Death of Malibran — Ole Bull
— Holiday Occupations — Felix Mendelssohn's Betrothal — The
Oratorio of St Paul at Liverpool — Thalberg's Compositions —
Schumann — Account with Cramer and Co. — Twelve Characteristic
Studies.

WE read the fallowing passages in a letter written by
Moscheles in January. " As yet not a word from
our friend Felix Mendelssohn ; he has not recovered from
the shock of his father's death, or he would certainly have
written. What 1 do hear of him is anything but consolatory,
they say he cannot work, from feeling an indescribable void
in the loss of one whom he regarded as the chief mainstay
of his life ; but such a state of things cannot last. I can
well understand his grief when my mind goes back to the
autumn days I spent with him in his old home. His father,
old, weak, and almost blind, was a man gifted with such
activity of mind and clearness of judgment that I could not
only understand the deep reverence my friend felt for him,
but also share it with him. The following letters from other
members of the Mendelssohn family testify to their sorrow.
The first is from Mendelssohn's widow : —

" Berlin, I2th January, 1836.

" I know you have a deep sympathy with me, dear Mrs.
Moscheles, prostrate as I am under this terrible and utterly
unexpected blow, and I know that you will find some alle-
viation of your own sorrow in my honestly assuring you that
the two days your excellent husband spent with us in Oc-
tober were among the brightest and most cheerful that gild-
ed /^/j- declining days ; nay, they left a remembrance which to



LETTERS FROM THE MENDELSSOIIX FAMILY.



223



the last gave him the deepest joy. Everything then seemed in
harmony with his wishes, and events appeared to shape
t?hemselves as he would have thought best for his own happi-
ness. He was deeply sensible and grateful for such bless-
ings, and what a noble, gentle, beneficent spirit his was, day
after day ripening, aspiring to higher aims I How thought-
ful his observations the very last night he was with us, as he
sat listening to our reading the ' Profession de Foi du Vi-
caire Savoyard,' out of Rousseau's * Emile.' How sweet,
how cheerful our interview, before that last sleep, the sleep
of death I I had never thought death possible in that pain-
less, ethereal form. I could not realize the dread face.
Without any foreshadowing of my sorrow, I found myself
bereaved and in deepest misery. My children, one and all,
behave like angels, and I w^ere ungrateful indeed, if in my
hour of agony, I were blind to the many blessings still left
to me. Felix's struggle with the sorrow brought on him
made me at first very troubled and anxious ; when we are
with him tears seem to give him relief and courage for the
battle of life before him. It is a good thing we should have
him just now living near us ; he has twice visited us since
the event. Pray accept, my dear friend, my warmest thanks
for all the kindness you showed to my dear one when he
was in London ; he always spoke of it with emotion and
gratitude, at last, when the state of his eyes prevented him
from working, he would repeatedly say : ^ I don't feel in the
least dull, I have seen in the course of my life much that is
beautiful and interesting!' And his visits to London, and
your friendship, he reckoned among his highest enjoyments.
He never forgot any of his numerous friends, pray assure
them all how deeply sensible I am of their kindness.

'• L. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy."

We give an extract from a letter of Fanny Hensel, to
the Moscheles ; she was Mendelssohn's elder sister in point
of years, but like a twin-sister in her tastes and suscepti-
bility for art. After acknowledging, in language similar to
that in her mother's letter, the care and attention paid to
her father while he was in London, she continues : '' Do you
remember, dear Mrs. Moscheles, how Felix one autumn
evening you spent with us played the exquisite Adagio in F



224



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



sharp major from one of Haydn's quartets ? My father had
a special love for Haydn's music, the movement was new to
him, and so powerfully affected him that he wept as he lis-
tened, confessing afterwards that it impressed him as being
so deeply sorrowful. Felix was much struck by this view,
for although ' ?nasto' was m irked, we had all been impress-
ed rather the other way. My father's judgment in musical
matters was often wonderfully acute, and singularly correct
for one uninitiated in the technicalities of the art. For you,
dear Mrs. Moscheles, he had the greatest esteem and affec-
tion. My anxiety about Felix is at an end, he has collected
all his energies, and deep though his sorrow be, it is natural,
and not of that distressing kind that deepened our sorrow
and mada us doubly solicitous on his account. The coming
season and travelling will, I trust, completely restore him to
that state of mind that he must recover, if he wishes to live
up to his father's standard, as he never failed to do while
they were together. Such intense sympathy as theirs is
very rarely found in the world. I now bid you both heartily
farewell.

"Fanny Hensel."

Moscheles' sympathy and thoughts were far away with
his afflicted friends, but the duties incidental to his position
in England were paramount considerations, and he found it
impossible to withdraw from the busy vortex of London.
Adverting to theatrical matters he says : " Braham has
taken a lease of a small house, the St. James's Theatre, and
had it decorated very tastefully in the Louis XIV. style.
He has an excellent company, headed by Jenny Vertpre,
and other well-known celebrities of the French stage ; they
attract the best society of London by their exquisite render-
ing of dramas which have already become popular in Paris.'*
At a later period French operas were given, with the lovely
Cinti and famous tenor Nourrit, who shone particularly in
two pieces, " La Reine de Seize Ans" and " La Jeunesse de
Charles H." Once at this theatre Moscheles joined Mali-
bran and other stars in a concert, which began after the
opera and lasted till midnight. Balfe produces with great
success his first opera, " The Siege of Rochelle." " The
music light, after the manner of the composer himself, but



MALIBRAN.—DE BE RIOT.



225



cheerful and pleasing like the author;" after this he writes
for Malibran " The Maid of Artois." That versatile artist,
equally at home in the English, Italian, French, and Span-
ish languages, was engaged as an English prima donna at
Drury Lane Theatre. " Did Balfe intend her to do battle
with those incredibly difficult passages at the beginning, or
were they improvised by her on the spur of the moment ? I
can't say ; somehow or other the enchantress conjured them
forth. I don't like her so well in Fidelio, and prefer our
own unrivalled Schroder-Devrient in the part. Malibran's
forte hes in passionate acting, which contrasts too violently
with the enduring womanly love of Fidelio, and why she
brings two pistols into the prison, neither I nor any one else
can understand."

Malibran's protracted stay in London led to a close in-
timacy with the Moscheles, at whose house she was a con-
stant visitor. She was married to De B.Viot. Her spark-
ling genius, sunny cheerfulness, and never-failing spirit and
humor contrasted forcibly with his apathy, not to say cold-
ness, more especially as the two artists were constantly seen
and judged together. Other singers may captivate by their
art, and gifted and amiable women by their manners and
conversation, but Malibran had magic power to lead us cap-
tives, body and soul. In Moscheles' house she had every
one at her feet, the children looked on her as their own
property, she alone knew the right way to play with the
doll's house, and none other but Mahbran had a certain
black silk bag of irresistible attraction to the little ones.
The contents of this bag were not, however, the common-
place things — tovs or sugar-plums — but a paint-box, paper,
and brushes. She would come into the room, and the min-
ute afterwards she would be down on the carpet with the
children, letting them pull out everything, and then the pic-
ture-making began, and she would throw her whole energies
into the work, and share the children's intense delight.

We quote from the diary of the 12th of June : " Sunday.
— I began my day with setting Goethe's ' Meeresstille und
GKlckliche Fahrt' as a song for Malibran. We had great
fun the other day, when she and De Bjriot joined our early
dinner. The conversation turned upon Gnecco's comic
duet, which Malibran sang so frequently and charmingly



226 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

with Lablache. Man and wife ridicule and abuse one
another, caricaturing alternately each other's defects —
when she came to the passage: 'La tua bocca e fatta
apposta del servizio della posta;' 'just like my mouth,'
said Malibran, 'as broad as you please, and I'll just put this
orange in, to prove it.' One must have known De B^'riot
to appreciate his amazement and agony at seeing his wife
open her mouth wide, and discover two beautiful rows of
teeth, behind which the orange disappears. Then she
roared with laughter at her successful performance.

" She came at three o'clock ; with her were Thalberg,
Benedict, and Klingemann. We dined early, and imme-
diately afterwards Malibran sat down to the piano, and
' sang for the children,' as she used to call it, the Rataplan
and some of her father's Spanish songs ; for want of a
guitar accompaniment she used, while playing, every now
and then to mark the rhythm on the board at the back of
the keys. After singing with exquisite grace and charm a
number of French and Italian romances of her own compo-
sition, she was relieved at the piano by Thalberg, who
performed all manner of tricks on the instrument, snapping
his fingers as an obligato to Viennese songs and waltzes.
I played afterwards with reversed hands, and with my fists,
and none laughed louder than Malibran. At five o'clock,
we drove to the Zoological Gardens, and pushed our way
for an hour with the fashionables. When we had had
enough of man and beast, we took one more turn in the
Park, and directly we got home Malibran sat down to the
piano and sang for an hour. At last, however, she called
out to Thalberg: 'Venez jouer quelque chose, j'ai besoin
de me reposer,' her repose consisting in finishing a most
charming landscape, in water-colors (an art in which she
was self-taught). Thalberg played by heart, and in a most
masterly way, several of his ' Studies,' and fragments of a
newly written Rondo, then my ' Studies,' ' Allegri di Bra-
vura,' and ' G minor Concerto.' We had supper after-
wards ; there again it was Malibran who kept us all going.
She gave us the richest imitations of Sir George Smart, the
singers Knyvett, Braham, Phillips, and Vaughan, who had
sung with her at a concert given by the Duchess of C. ;
taking off the fat Duchess herself, as she condescendingly



MA LIBRA ^r.—yOHN PA RR Y. 22/

patronized 'her' artists, and winding up with the cracked
voice and nasal tones o'i Lady — , who inflicted ' Home,
sweet Home' on the company. Suddenly her comic vein
came to a full stop ; then she gave in the thorough German
style the scena from Freysch:.tz, with German words, and
a whole series of German songs by Mendelssohn, Schubert,
Weber, and my humble self; lastly, she took a turn with
' Don Juan,' being familiar not only with the music of
Zerlina, her own part, but knowing by heart every note in
the opera, which she could play and sing from beginning to
end. She went on playing and singing alternately untii
eleven o'clock, fresh to the last in voice and spirits. When
she left us, we were all rapturous about her music, lan-
guages, painting ; but what we liked best was her artless-
ness and amiability."

Moscheles composed for her a song with Klingemann's
words, " Steigt der Mond auf." (" The moon rises,") She
made him play to her constantly, knew several of his
"Studies" by heart, and told us that her father made her
practice them.

Moscheles, speaking in one of his letters of a concert
at his own house, adds, "Malibran and De Bjriot appeared
at eleven o'clock, after our eighty guests had satisfied their
musical appetite with English vocal music, solos by Lipinsky
and Servais, and my own * Concert Fantastique.' She
looked weary, and, when she sang, one scarcely recognized
Malibran, she was so voiceless. We only heard subse-
quently that she had been thrown from her horse when
riding in the park. Although suffering no injury, she had
not yet recovered from the violent shock. She was soon
herself, however, and sang two ' Freyschiitz' scenas in
German, a comic English duet with John Parry, three
Spanish, Italian, and French songs, winding up with tli^
duet, ' Cadence du Diable,' for herself and De Bi^riot, in
which she prefaces his daring and marvellous violin pas-
sages with the words, ' Voyez com me le diable prv^-lude."
The proper name of the piece is * Le Songe de Tartini,' and
the supposition being that the master has, in a dream, seen
the devil, and heard him play the piece right through, every
latitude is allowed for whims and eccentricities. VVhen my
wife showed some anxiety lest she should over-exert herself,



228 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

she replied, * Ma chere, je chanterais pour vous jusqu'a
extinction de voix.' It was interesting to watch her raptures
in listening to a duet composed and played by Benedict and
De BJriot ; certain passages in the work seemed to me
possibly to have emanated from her pen. I was called on
at the end of the evening to improvise ; and that the comic
element might be properly represented, young John Parry-
amused us with his masterly parody of the scena in the
Wolffs Glen in the ' Freyschl.tz.' With a sheet of music
rolled up, with one end in his mouth and the other resting
on the music desk, he produced the deepest horn or trom-
bone notes ; his hands worked the keys, and his feet a tea-
tray. There was the 'Wilde Jagd' complete. Thalberg
had a bad finger, and couldn't play ; but be and De B^riot
staid with us until three in the morning, gossiping and
commenting on the events of the evening." On the nth
of May Moscheles is assisted by De Beriot at his concert
given in the Italian Opera House. " I had an 'embarras
de richesses ; ' besides the great star Malibran, there were
Lablache, Grisi, and Clara Novello. 1 played a concerto
of Bach's that had never been heard in England, and my
own ' C minor Concerto.' It was a tremendous success for
all concerned. After a performance of the 'Maid of
Artois,' in which Malibran performed marvellously, we
went to see her in her dressing-room. There she sat,
surrounded by wreaths and an enormous bouquet in her
hand. She talked and laughed with us, adding : ' Si vous
vouliez me debarrasser de cette machine, c'est cet abomina-
ble Due de Brunswick qui vient de me I'apporter,' and so
saying, threw a colossal bouquet at me, which I caught.
What must ' the abominable Duke' have thought, when, a
few moments later, he saw me mount my carriage and carry
off his bouquet.^ For so it happened at the entrance-door
of Drury Lane Theatre." The exertions of the famous
artiste were incessant ; for, independent of her three
operatic performances per week, she was repeatedly en-
gaged for morning and evening concerts, and accepted all
sorts of invitations to fashionable breakfasts, fetes cham-
p^tres, and private parties. To attend three parties on the
same evening was a matter of constant occurrence. "On
the i6th of July," writes Moscheles, "before the De



MA LIB RAN. 229

Beriots started on their journey, we spent an hour with
Malibran, by appointment ; we found her at the piano, and
Costa standing by her. She sang us a comic song that she
had just composed : A sick man weary of hfe invokes death ;
but when death, personified by a doctor, knocks at the
door, he dismisses him with scorn. She had set this sub-
ject so cleverly, and sang the music so humorously, that we
could scarcely refrain from laughing ; and yet we couldn't
endure to lose a single note. After this, she wrote in my
album a charming French romance ; this she sang to us,
and presented ray wife with one of her original water-color
landscapes. At last we parted ; they went to Brussels for
a few days, and returned to Manchester for the music festi-
val, where she sang so bewitchingly, on the 20th of Septem-
ber, that the audience boisterously called for an encore.
Malibran, already in a very dangerous state, and one
requiring absolute rest and cessation from work, summoned
all her remaining energies ; after repeating her song, and
her inimitable shake on the high C, she fainted away and
became unconscious. She was taken to the hotel ; the
doctor bled her, and she awoke to apparent consciousness ;
but alas ! this only lasted till the 23d of September, when
she died." .... "Expressions of sorrow are inadequate,
for such a loss as this penetrates the whole world of art,
and plunges into grief the more confined circle of her
friends. [ felt impelled to clothe my sorrow in sound, and
composed a fantasia on Malibran's death."

Thai berg, who in the year 1826 had parted from Mos-
cheles as a pupil, now returned as a master. " I find his
introduction of harp effects on the piano quite original."
writes Moscheles. " His theme, which lies in the middle
part, is brought out clearly in relief with an accompaniment
of complicated arpeggios which remind me of a harp. The
audience is amazed. He himself remains immovably calm ;
his whole bearing, as he sits at the piano, is soldier-like ;
his lips are tightly compressed, and his coat buttoned
closely. He told me he acquired this attitude of self con-
trol by smoking a Turkish pipe while practicing his piano-
forte exercises ; the length of the tube was so calculated as
to keep him erect and motionless." We quote from a
letter : —



230 ^^ ^^^ ^ ^^ U^ ^^ ^ ^'^ ^ U SI CI A NS.

" At lo in the evening of the 2d of May, we heard a
knock at our door, and Ole Bull, the Norwegian violinist,
stepped in ; this was his first visit to us. In less than five
minutes he had poured forth a torrent of talk, giving us his
exalted opinion of himself, and rattling on in such an im-
petuous, eccentric fashion that we were completely dumb-
foundered. Is this the genuine 7^// sacre/ The descrip-
tion he gave of his own life (it has appeared in print) is so
full of adventure that it threw Paganini completely into the
shade, and we asked ourselves, when he was gone, whether
his talent as a violin-player would do as much. His play-
ing, no less than his demeanor, at his own concert, created
a sensation. I shouldn't like to mention Spohr's name in
connection v;ith his, nor that of other musicians, his infe-
riors in execution, tor they will permanently be recognized
as first-rate artists, when the impetuous Norwegian, pitted
against them, is forced to succumb in the art arena. I
must add," says Mrs. Moscheles, "that Ole Bull, shortly
before he announced his concert, stepped in to see us at
our dinner hour, when Moscheles had just come home aftei
a weary 'day's lesson-giving. 1 can't say he was a welcome
guest, much less did we relish his request that Moscheles
would play for him. Moscheles tried to get off, and for a
time withstood manfully his tormentor, but consented at
last. Such incidents are time-killers." "To-day," she
says in another letter, *' I will enumerate for you some
of the strange contrasts we are subjected to. The other
day we had a small party on purpose for the Lockharts,
when my husband's respected friend and colleague, the
famous Schnyder von Wartensee, turns up unexpectedly,
and, as if he were not enough, in comes Sanklow, the Po-
lish Jew, in his robes ; he is not attractive to the olfactory
nerves, and while Moscheles is playing his trio with Lipin-
sky and Servais, he is all impatience for the last bar, that
he may have his turn, and give us the benefit of his straw
and wood fiddle, with its petty shakes and passages. He
is not up to the mark of Gusikovv, his compatriot and pre-
decessor, on the poverty-stricken instrument. And how
would you have liked a grand performance of Handel's
oratorio, ' Solomon,' in Exeter Hall, and immediately after-
wards the dance-music of a ball-room, where we were



HERZ AND BROAD WOOD.



231



obliged, in spite of the unpleasant contrast, to look in for
an hour or so, or we should have been thought rude ? In
London, no f^te, ball, or evening party is thought successfijl
unless ' one has everybody,' therefore, that we might have
* everybody,' our friends the H.'s, who, as you know, are a
good deal mixed up with Indian affairs, brought to our
house, a few evenings since, his Excellency Prince Jam-
hod-deen, the tawny son of Tippoo Sa'b. On this evening,
however, we had only a few select listeners, bent on enjoy-
ing with us the Kreutzer sonata with Lipinsky, and the
Bach concerto, with quartet accompaniments. How the
tawny prince must have longed for his tam-tam! We find
the parties at Lady — 's very agreeable. She is a zealous
pupil and admirer of Moscheles, engages the entire troupe
of- Italians at an immense cost, and fills her three splendid
reception-rooms with the rank, fashion, and beauty of the
day. When invited on such nights, we are given to under-
stand that there is no design to make my husband play to
a set of people who would only talk during an instrumental
performance."

H. Herz introduced his seven-octave piano in the con-
cert market, but the tone was declared to be thin, and his
invention met with but faint praise. Broadwood, on the
other hand, made his first essay with his bichord (semi-
grand) piano, and proved the possibility of gaining a power-
ful tone through the medium of only two strings. These
instruments attained most deservedly a large circulatior,
and Moscheles always delighted to play on them.

Moscheles, writing from Ramsgate, talks with delight
of shaking from his finger tips the dust of lesson-giving, and
adds : —

" If my wife asks me the reason of my not utilizing my
spare time for composing, I can only answer that my con
science will not allow me. After the harum-scarum of a
London season, the mind and fingers become paralyzed,
and the former can only be healed by the latter, which
means that I must play a great deal of the best music before
I can allow myself to indulge in an idea of my own, or
commit it to paper, otherwise it would be mere shallow
hackneyed stuff. After escaping illness, the exhausted
patient should take strengthening medicine, before he again



132



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



resumes his professional calling." During the close of his
visit to the seaside he writes a Greek war song for Phillips,
who, on receipt of it, replies, "I shall sing it at the Phil-
harmonic, and everywhere else, and will answer for its
success." Besides this he composes music for Uhland's
beautiful poem, " Schiifers Sontagslied," and is so delighted
w'ith his holiday time that he gives it in one of his letters
the epithet of " heavenly."

The happy news of Mendelssohn's being engaged to be
married surprises him on his return to London. Four
years before, on the 3d of September, 1832, Mendelssohn
had written to Mrs. Moscheles : "Klingemann still remains
a knight of the order of bachelors, and so do I ; thirty
years hence we shall both want to get married, but then no
girl will care to take us. When you burn the letter, cut
this prophecy out, and preserve it carefully, in thirty years
it will be seen v/hether it was worthy of credit." On the
6th of October, Mrs. Moscheles receives the following letter,
in a different strain, from Mendelssohn's mother.



" Berlin, October 6lh, 1836.

" Dearest Mrs. Moscheles, — You have probably al-
ready heard by report, which travels now-a-days so much
more rapidly than people or railways and steamers, that
Felix is engaged to be married. I cannot, however, deny
myself the pleasure of personally communicating to you
and your husband, Felix's excellent friend, the news which
is a matter of such happiness to us all. You, an affection-
ate mother, can imagine how strange it seems to me, not
to know either his bride elect, or any one of her numerous
relations ; nor can I recollect ever to have heard the name
of the family. As a penalty for excessive liveliness, quite
out of place, considering what an old lady I am, I shall be
forced to wait a long time before I can see the fair un-
known, who is already so precious to me. You know, how-
ever, how disinterested are a mother's feelings, and will
form a correct estimate of the joy we all feel, for Felix him-
self seems so completely happy. There is, however, a bit-
ter drop to this cup of joy, and the thought is constantly
arising in my mind, had his dear father but lived to share



MENDEL SSOHN' S BETRO THAL. 233

our happiness ! He desired such a blessing for Feb"x so
earnestly, and yet scarcely ventured to hope for it. That
sad event (his father's death) supplied Felix perhaps with
the strongest incentive tor taking such a resolve. When he
paid us his last Christmas visit, he was so inexpressibly
wretched, so thoroughly heart-broken, so absorbed in silent
suffering, so vacillating and purposeless even in his art
schemes, that his sisters persuaded him he must turn over
a new leaf, and give his mind a fresh start.

"His acquaintance with a young lady in Frankfort soon
enabled him to shake off the thraldom of low spirits, and
he is now happily betrothed to his Cecile ; Madame Jean-
renaud, her mother, was a Miss Souchay, and is related to
the Beneckes and Schunck.

" Malibran's death has shocked and grieved me exceed-
ingly ; Felix always reckoned her talents as amorwg the
greatest in our times. What a loss ! As you may imagine,
a mother's egotism too puts in its word, for she was to
have sung in ' St. Paul,' at Liverpool, on the third of this
month. You, and your dear husband, and our London
friends will excuse him if he has not written for a long
time ; I too am not favored with many letters just at pres-
ent. Rebecca, who on returning from Eger, is paying a
fortnight's visit to her brother, writes, as a justification, that
he is in the midst of whirl and bustle, without a quiet mo-
ment to himself. Pray excuse him, and heap kindness on
kindness by announcing his engagement, in his and my
name, to our London friends.

" Your ever faithful and devoted,

" L. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy."

The happiness of Mendelssohn's friends on hearing of
his engagement with Cecile Jeanrenaud was perfectly intelli-
gible, for it soon became plain that he had found a mind in
harmony with his own, a woman who understood him and
knew how to value him as he deserved. At the same time
he was to enjoy a great musical triumph in England,
although he was not present to witness it ; for the oratorio
of " St. Paul" was given for the first time in Liverpool, and
received with the greatest enthusiasm. Moscheles, who
had undertaken the correction of the work for England,



2 34 ^^ ^^^""^ ^ ^^ ^'^^^ ^^'-^ ^^ USICIA NS.

writes in his diary : "To my great delight, I am constantly
busy with the magnificent ' St. Paul,' and often become com-
pletely absorbed in the work. Its chief qualities are, in my
judgment, majesty, a noble simplicity, deep feeling, and an
antique form. In this work he has given the most brilliant
proofs of a mastery already generally recognized." In the
quiet time of his autumn holiday Moscheles had begun to
work at the " Characteristic Studies," and to send occasion-
al contributions to musical periodicals. The song, '" What-
ever sweets we hope to find," the Terzet, " An Argument,"
etc., belong to these fugitive pieces.

" The proper ground for finger gymnastics," he writes in
his diary, " is to be found in Thalberg's latest compositions ;
for ' mind' (Geist) give me Schumann. The Romanticism
in his works is a thing so completely new, his genius so
great, that to weigh correctly the peculiar qualities and weak-
nesses of this new school I must go deeper and deeper into
the study of his works. He sends me his sonata ' Flor-
estan and Eusebius,' which has just been published, accom-
panied by the flattering remark that I am the only person
who can review the work properly, and would I do it for the
' Neue Zeitschrift der Musik,' in Leipzig."

This was done conscientiously and earnestly, and Schu-
mann inserted the review in his " Gesammelte Schriften : ''
he also dedicated to Moscheles his " Concerto without Or-
chestra," which the latter zealously studied. He objected
to the title as contradictory, and disagreed with Schumann's
method of translating the musicai signs — such as piano, forte
etc. — into German, as not being generally feasible, and
whenever he discovered in one and the same piece both
German and Italian terms employed, he found fault with the
practice.

Taking a retrospective glance at his dealings with his
publishers, Moscheles again complains that only his arrange-
ments of operas and pieces of a similar calibre prove remu-
nerative, whereas his larger and important works command
inadequate terms, and the sum paid for the elaborate and
conscientiously prepared edition of Beethoven's pianoforte
works is actually no compensation for the time expended
upon it. Aiter some discussion Moscheles obtained better
terms for his larger compositions, and agreed, in addition



CHA RAC TERIS TIC S T UDIE S.



235



to his already prepared arrangement of Balfe's operas, to
edit a pianoforte version of Donizetti's " Belisario." He
cannot suppress a sigh in his diary with reference to the lat-
ter. His chief work, however, was upon the twelve great
characteristic '' Studies." " They are not intended for pu-
pils," he writes; "there are difhculties in them which only
a master can overcome. Thai berg, Liszt, all such players
will find their w^ork cut out for them." "Juno," "The
Dream," " The Bacchanal," were finished when the lovely
" Nursery Tale," was begun, a harbinger of the coming
event — the birth of a third daughter — a circumstance
which occurred soon afterwards under very happy auspices.



CHAPTER XIX.
1837.

Recitals for Pianoforte Music — 'Production of Beethoven's Ninth Sym-
phony — An Old Harpsichord — Revival of Old Masters — British
Concerts — Popularity of Italian Music and Musicians — Thalberg's
Second Season in London — Foreign Guests — Assaut de Pianos
— Chopin — Remarks on Pianoforte Makers — Schroder-Devrient —
Operatic Atfairs — The Antient Concerts — The Beethoven Monu-
ment in Bonn — Holidays in Hamburg — Return to London.

IN the course of the preceding winter many delightful
evenings had been devoted to stringed quartets, which
were repeated in the present year. Hitherto there had been
no recitals for pianoforte music, and these were introduced
by Moscheles. Many of his colleagues called this a ven-
turous undertaking. Moscheles, however, held to his pur-
pose, taking the precaution to interweave a little vocal mu-
sic with the instrumental, so as to relieve the monotony
which people warned him against. He was like the farmer
in the fable, however, who was advised by some to ride him-
self, by others to put his son on the saddle. The news-
papers were loud in their praises of the new scheme, but
censured the introduction of vocal music, adding that it was
an interruption, and the one blot in an otherwise perfect en-
tertainment. On three successive occasions Moscheles play-
ed some music of Scarlatti and his contemporaries on a harp-
sichord, built in the year 1771, and still in possession of
Messrs. Broadwood. Externally the instrument was shaped
like an old Viennese piano. When the cover was lifted, one
saw a contrivance somewhat in the shape of a Venetian
blind, which, like the shutter covering the swell part of the
organ, was acted upon by the pedals — by using this, greater
sonority was given to the tone, which otherwise, was rather
thin, and less agreeable. Moscheles gave much attention
to the invention, and turned it to good account. The upper
and lower keyboards of the instrument were evidently in-



BACITS D MIX OR CONCERTO. 237

tended for the rendering of such passages of Scarlatti and
other masters as on modern pianos require constant crossing
of the hands ; and one row of keys being connected with
two, and the other with three strings, certain shades are
produced in the quality of the sound.

Bach's D minor concerto, with quartet accompaniment,
was now heard for the first time, and all agreed that a real
feeling for music was fostered and promoted by an acquaint-
ance with such masters ; the papers expressed a hope that
the crowded audience in Moscheles' three concerts would
induce him to repeat them next winter, and introduce in his
programmes even older composers than Sebastian Bach.
A novelty in England was to be seen in the " British Con-
certs," the introduction of which was well timed, for the
fashionable world was so prejudiced in favor of the light
and often shallow Italian music, that young native talent
felt piqued, and ready to measure itself with the vapid pro-
ductions of Italian rivals, in the event of a series of perform-
ances being given, in which none but English artists and
English music should be heard. "Exclusiveness," remarks
Moscheles, " is a constant hindrance to art-progress ; in
this case, there was such a frequent want of originality in
the composition, and such inadequacy of performance, that
the fashionable world remained loyal to their favorite Ital-
ians, and only third-rate people took any pride or delight
in "native talent." One of the great successes of the sea-
son, however, in which all classes joined, was obtained by
Litolff, who brought out the first concerto he had composed.
*' Here, anyhow, is originality," says Moscheles, " although
rather unpolished, and his powers as an executant are un-
deniable ; the storm of applause and enthusiasm was on this
occasion perfectly justified."

The diary, as well as the letters of this winter, show how
earnestly Moscheles, as a joint-director of the Philharmonic
Concerts, again labored to bring out Beethoven's- Ninth
Symphony, which, in the year 1824, had been pronounced
impossible, and failed in consequence. Great as were the
obstacles thrown in his way by his colleagues, they at last
resolved to hand over to him the leadership in this purely
venturous scheme ; as for success, not a soul dreamt of
such a thing. Now began a series of weeks of labor. In-



238 RECEN T M USIC A ND M U SI CI A NS.

stead of one orchestral rehearsal, Moscheles was allowed
two, but that was all, and, consequently, he seized the op-
portunity of rehearsing every difficulty with each individual
player. Every singer and instrumentalist knew his part ;
owing to Moscheles' accompaniment and explanations, each
man had some knowledge of the colossal work before the
time of the first orchestral rehearsal ; the second he used
for the acquirement of light, shade, and expression, and al-
though much was wanting, and two solo-singers not perfectly
up to their work, still the performance was brilliantly suc-
cessful. Moscheles writes in high spirits to his relatives,
and says, " You can imagine my excitement before and dur-
ing the concert on the 17th of April. 1 don't speak of my
work and labors, for by this accompanying article, out of the
Ati'as, you will see how they have been rewarded. I don't
know who the critic is, but I send you this article, because
it deals with the chief points of the performance shortly and
concisely ; all the newspapers are fairly in raptures with this
colossal music, and unanimously insist on its remaining a
fixture in the ' Repertoire,' and being performed, on a
grander scale, either in Exeter Hall or at the Birmingham
Festival. Suffice it to say that wealthy England has en-
riched herself by one additional treasure, and how I rejoiced
that 1 have been permitted to disinter it ! " The weightiest
part of the article lying before us consists in the remark that
conductors who have not a thoroughly deep knowledge of
the work itself, would labor in vain to make it understood,
and that the performers themselves, if not penetrated with
a sense of its beauties, would impose on the audience an in-
tolerable ennui. Moscheles' peculiar capabilities and efforts
are enumerated, and a due meed of praise is awarded both
to singers and orchestral players.

In his second season in London, Thalberg enjoyed ex-
traordinary success. His Fantasia on " God save the King"
acquired a sort of political significance, as it was produced
during the last days of King William IV. "s fatal illness — at
Moscheles' own concert, on the 31st of May. Thalberg
played, with him and Benedict, Bach's triple concerto —
it was a regular triumph, and more enjoyed by the aud-
ience than Scarlatti's " Cats' Fugue," performed by Mos-
cheles on the harpsichord ; the "■ Characteristic Studies,"



A MUSICAL CIRCLE. 239

the " Concert Pathetique," both novelties, were very v/ell
r ceived.

In a letter from Moscheles to his relatives, the following
passage occurs: "You might well suppose I was tire a after
the concert, but how could I be so ? An exquisite perform-
ance was in readiness for me when I returned home — this
was in honor of my birthday — nothing more or less than the
'Abt und Kaiser' dramatized, in which Felix appeared
mounted on a horse — -I beg his pardon, a rocking-horse ....
Everything else analogous, and to a father's eyes unsurpass-
able."

In a letter from Mrs. Moscheles, written in the month
of May, we read : —

"Certainly ' Dame Music' is more than ever the guar-
dian patroness of this house, and you will believe this
vv^hen you hear of all that passes in it. Czerny from Vienna,
Jaques Rosenhain, the brothers Ganz and Franchomme,
Muhlenfeld from Rotterdam, Gerke from St. Petersburg,
Concertmeister Muser from Berlin, with his wife and tal-
ented son, all are our welcome foreign guests. Thalberg
and Benedict often join our circle as habitues. Every one
wishes to exchange music with Moscheles — /. ^., the piano-
forte players produce their new compositions, listen to his,
and the instrumentalists have their solos accompanied, or
take part with him in Sonatas and Trios. Besides this,
Ries has the score of a new oratorio, ' Saul and David,'
Neukomm an incredible amount of sacred and secular
music ; all this Moscheles reads through with them at the
piano, and often says to me, " Thank Heaven I have such
good eyes, for NeukomTn's delicately written small scores
are a veritable eye-dust( Augenpulver)^ and I can prophecy
no future life for the music itself. We are forced, alas !
this year to do without our 'ace of trumps,' Fehx Mendels-
sohn ; instead of him, however, we have a third series of
* Lieder ohne Worte,' and a new series of 'Lieder' dedicated
to Miss Julia Jeanrenaud, and we revel in both. Only
think, I had lately to fight a pitched battle with, and, to
save his interests as an artist, against — . He and his
family can't speak a single word of English, and his son
being about to give a concert, I had offered myself as trans-
lator of the advertisements, programmes, etc. But the



240



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS



worthy concert-giver brings me a regular German essay,
reminding me more of a ' Cafe-chantant' than a Concert-
room, and I dech'ne the task of a faithful translation, being
determined to omit all the laudatory epithets lavished on
his son, a boy of ten. It was long before he consented,
but out of regard for his position as an artist I remained
firm. I must now tell you a good thing. At an evening
party lately at our house, when half-a-dozen pianoforte-
players were present, an awkward pause ensued ; no one
wished to be the first to play, every one, when asked,
declared this one or the other must begin. My husband
of course could have filled up the time by his own playing,
but the great thing we wanted was to make the foreign
artists and English amateurs acquainted with one another.
What was to be done? In my difficulty, I proposed to
write down on paper all the names of the gentlemen, and
throw them into a hat, if they would promise to play in the
order in which they were drawn. This was agreed to, and
we had a regular " Assaut de Pianos.' Luckily the pres-
ence of Mrs. Shaw, with her fine alto voice, and Miss
Masson, as well as Balfe, with his tenor, enabled us to give
our friends some vocal music as well. Chopin, who spent
a few days in London, was the only one of the foreign
artists who did not go out, and wished no one to visit him,
for the effort of talking told on his consumptive frame. He
heard a few concerts and disappeared."

" I wrote to you lately about pianoforte-players" (we
are quoting from another letter), "to-day, therefore, you
shall have a chapter on pianoforte-makers ; I shall call
them only birds of passage this season, for 'birds of prey'
would certainly be too strong an expression. And yet I
see P.'s vinegar face, whenever at our house or at concerts
he hears Moscheles upon an Erard or dementi, and can
fancy him muttering to himself, as he hears the Erard :
' Anch' io sono pittore,' or the Clementi : ' We are far
ahead of that,' or the Broadwood, upon which Moscheles
occasionally plays : " How can one prefer those to a P. ? '
G. too, who came here with Czerny, wanted to hear every
instrument, to visit all the pianoforte-makers, and finds the
touch of this instrument too heavy, the tone of another too
muffled, and will allow his pianos alone to be brilliant.



SATIRE ON THE ITALIANS. 24 1

We have, too, an inventor of a method for the art of tuning
pianofortes ; last year it was a Crefeldman, this year a
Parisian, Monsieur le Pcre, but in spite of his assurances
that it is so easy a matter to tune a piano half a tone higher
or lower 'que vous le feriez faire par votre domestique, ou
votre femme-de-chambre,' the thing didn't turn out practi-
cal. I could name many more, but it would weary you.
Every one consults his own interests, but all agree in ask-
ing my poor husband for verbal introductions and written
certificates to contain nothing but praise. 'And one can't
help having a conscience,' he very correctly observes. ' One
would not like to pay such equivocal compliments as the
great M. has done occasionally ; those who are commended
are enchanted, but the recipient, if he is wide awake, knows
how to interpret such stereotyped overwrought phrase-
ology."

Schruder-Devrient appeared again ; her Fidelio was
incomparable as ever, her Norma, however, not up to
Pastas mark. The German Opera was obliged to close
for want of support. " Love in the City," an opera by W.,
was given once in the English Opera House and then
withdrawn. Puzzi, the fashionable horn-player, brought to
London an opera buffa company, in which Ronconi, who
afterwards became so famous, appeared ; he, however, was
the only star.

The Royal Opera House in the Haymarket had the
great vocalists we have already mentioned ; but the " Puri-
tani," and such operas, were given so repeatedly that an
amusing article appeared in the Atlas, headed " On Oper-
atic Affairs." Director and company were treated as evil-
doers, and subjected to a severe cross-examination. For
instance, questions are asked of Grisi : "How often this
year has she sung ' Son vergin vezzosa '(her cavatina out of
' Puritani') .? Has she sung it morning, afternoon, and
evening, waking and sleeping?" And on her answering in
the affirmative, the cross-examiner proceeds: "Does she
like that music.'*" — "Not particularly." "Why does she
sing it then.?" — "Because she has for three years electri-
fied the public ; and the effect is as strong to-day as three
years ago." " But isn't it better to please than to aston-
ish ? " — " Oh yes ; but the public is only able to gape with
It



242 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

astonishment because it lacks intelligence." Then comes
Lablache's turn, and he is made to say : "John Bull loves
him for his powerful voice. John Bull cares for nothing
but loud bellowing and roaring, and such old hackneyed
things as have been thoroughly drummed into his ears —
that's enough to kill every good singer." Rubini, on the
other hand, admits that he " enjoys singing the same things
over and over again ; that the composer mav give him one
note, but receives fifty in return ; that Bellini, Donizetti,
and Mercadante have become immortal by means of ' the
broderie' lavished on their music by him and his colleague
David, men whose singing can melt hearts of stone."
"And what of Mozart?" is next asked. "Rubini knows
him, and is obliged to sing his music occasionally. ' But,
to make a hit, give me other operas.' "

The bitter truth underlying the humorous form of this
article may thus be summed up : Mozart when sung by Ital-
ians, really lacked warmth ; performers and audience were
equally indifferent, and not once in the evening do the glo-
rious voices show to advantage.

In the year 1776 the " Antient Concerts " had been or-
ganized by the Earl of Sandwich, and during Moscheles'
residence in England, from 1820 to 1836, they alternated
with the fortnightly Philharmonic Concerts, each Society
giving yearly a series of eight. The intention was to bring
out the very oldest music, English, Italian, German, and
French ; to use for this purpose old instruments which had
slumbered for years in cabinets of antiquities, and thus to
mark the progress of modern days by showing the improve-
ments on old inventions. A ' viol di gamba,' 'viol d'amore,'
etc., were heard among other instruments. During
these concerts the music was sometimes interrupted by
the loud observations of the Duke of — . "In spite of his
fondness for music," says Moscheles, " he puts no restraint
on himself; the subscribers are quite aware of the inevitable
drawback ; if a stranger happens to say, ' What noise is that ? '
he is simply told, ' Oh, it's only the Duke,' and that's
enough. His abrupt sentences burst in like beats on a
drum that is out of time with the orchestra.' This year
Moscheles introduced as a novelty at the " Antient Concerts,"
Bach's " D minor Concerto," which could not fail to be re-



NINE WEEKS' HOLIDA YS. 243

ceived with great enthusiasm. Lord B., one of the directors
of these " Antient Concerts," suminond the artists to a con-
sultation and meeting, with reference to the Beethoven mon-
ument in Bonn. He wished England to raise a splendid
subscription, to be realized from a grand performance of
Beethoven's compositions. The noble lord, however, was
opposed by every one. It was said in one newspaper, " that
the Germans never contributed a shilling to the monuments
of illustrious Englishmen." In another Lord B. was re-
proved for never troubling himself about German music,
and onlv caring really for the shallowest works of the Ital-
ian masters. At one of the meetings, Moscheles gave his
decided vole against Lord B.'s proposition. " For," he
said, '• we are already in July, and besides, owing to the
King's death, many a concert has been a failure." His
opinion, however, although backed by all the other artists,
was not allowed to prevail, and a concert was given on the
20th of July to empty benches. Happily, some subscriptions
raised by Beethoven's admirers defrayed the costs of tiie
concert ; but the exaggerated promises made by Lord B. to
the Bonn Committee evaporated in a letter of apology to
Baron Schlegel.

The nine weeks' holidays were again spent very happily
among Moscheles' Hamburg relatives at Flottbeck, one of
the prettiest spots on the banks of the Elbe, Two " Studies "
were composed there, and Moscheles' during his walks in
the park, thought out the preface and characteristic marks
and directions affixed to the twelve grand " Studies " which
were published in the course of the winter. Moscheles sent
the E flat fugue which is in these Studies to Schumann, with
whom he frequently corresponded. It was a matter of re-
gret to the Moscheles that Mendelssohn was in London
during their absence, and afterwards in Birmingham, where
he conducted at the Festival his oratorio of " St Paul," with
what success is well known.

Returning in autumn to the half-deserted streets ot
London, Moscheles found Neukomm, Benedict, and Thal-
berg still there ; these artists, as well as his friend Klinge-
mann, were constant visitors ; the house, as in all former
years, was a musical centre, one evening every week being
devoted to chamber music. Moscheles' chief occupation



244 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS

was reading pieces of ancient and modern music ; for in the
early part of the year, 1838, he intended giving a series of
historical concerts, and among so many art-treasures much
had to be examined before he made the final selection.



CHAPTER XX.
1838.

Historical Concerts — The Trial Nights at the Philharmonic Concerts
— Musical Pupils and Publishers — Influx of Foreign Artists —
Johanu Strauss's Music — Alfred De Vigny — Lady-Morgan — Great
Event of the Season — A Month at Hastings — Beethoven — Cham-
ber Music— Flattering Offer from Weimar.

«• "iV T Y fingers are in proper order," he writes on the ist
Wji of January in his diary, " and the programmes for my
coming concerts are ah-eady made. 1 have burrowed again
and again into the ash-covered treasures of the musical
Pompeii, and brought many grand things to light. Beet-
hoven is great — whom should I call greater? — but as the
public is forever listening to his music, alternating with
modern pieces written merely for display, I intend to intro-
duce, first of all, those composers who gave the impetus to
Beethoven's eagle flight. To have a proper appreciation of
the art of our own day, we should not forget its past history ;
although I have begun with the old masters, I intend to lead
my audience gradually up to our own time, and then they
can compare and draw their own conclusions." After the
second performance, he says : " The success of these con-
certs certainly proves that the public is capable of receiving
true impressions of the really beautiful, that to rivet their at-
tention, one has no need to worship at the shrine of fashion ;
my audiences rejoiced with me over these old specimens,
whole and entire, such as I gave them ; as dessert, Lindley
and I i idulged them in Beethoven's variations on a theme
by Handel." The newspapers were loud in their praises
of the undertaking, and improve the occasion to hurl anathe-
mas at the Italian ' swindle,' and point to Moscheles as the
representative of a higher order of musical devolopment ;
they all eulogize warmly his new characteristic " Studies,"
some of which he played on these ocpasions. "Why did he



246



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



not play all the twelve ? " they say ; " people wish to hear
them all, and repeatedly; Moscheles should not carry his
modesty too far," etc. Mrs. Moscheles writes : " The Duke
of Cambridge quite took the lead at these concerts, he often
asked for an encore, ard the audiei»ce backed him in spile
of the lengthy programmes. He is so kind to my husband,
and after every concert asks him : ' Pray when is the next ?
1 must make a memorandum not to forget' This winter
there are classical quartet concerts, wind-instrument concerts.
British concerts — in short, music without end. In Febru-
ary Moscheles, as one of the conductors of the Philharmonic
Concerts, had to be present at the two " trial nights," of
new compositions; these he called "very unsatisfactory."
" Somt German and some English symphonies and overtures
have no vitality ; an orchestral Fantasia, with a printed ex-
planatory programme, containing ' Conspiracy, Revolution,
and Deliverance,' is lit for a melo-drama in a suburban
theatre; one symphony and a couple of overtures are better,
but nothing much to speak of; not one of them found a
place in the programme of the eight concerts given this year,
for the Directors rather than risking a fiasco preferred ad-
hering to the classical masters."

The Philharmonic Society opened this year's series of
concerts with a funeral march in honor of their member,
Ferdmand Ries, who had lately died. There were several
novelties in the way of pianoforte compositions. Mrs. An-
derson played Mendelssohn's Concerto in D minor, which
was greeted, and justly, with great enthusiasm. Madame
Dulcken was well received in HummeFs posthumous Con-
certo in F major, Moscheles played his own " Sonate Pathet-
ique, ' a work which, in spite of the general sympathy of the
public and the press, provoked one angry article, in which
the writer took him to task for again conducting a perform-
ance of the Ninth Symphony, and parodied a short address
which Moscheles made to the band on that occasion. The
circumstance is only worth recording, inasmuch as it brought
into relief the calmness and equanimity of Moscheles' char-
acter, whenever he became the victim of such petty annoy-
ances. The hostile pages, let us add, had a short life, and
the Ninth Symphony rewarded the Directors with fresh ex-
pressions of thanks and recognition on the part of the pub-



FOREIGN A R TIS TS. 247

lie; he found an ample reward in the accomplishment of so
great a task, contrasting as it did with the yoke of lessons,
and the exacting caprice of fashion, which necessitated those
inevitable piano arrangements for the use of his pupils.
Occasionally, when some importunate publisher would press
on him some sensational title, we find remarks in the diary
like the following: "The man positively drives me wild.
He insists on dictating to me laws about title pages, mak-
ing alterations without asking my leave. I don't allow this,
he has no right to do so."

Frequently, too, does he complain of the multifarious
duties, many so " unartistic," of the professional man in Lon-
don ; he regrets also that he has so little time for epistolary
intercourse with his musical friends. Mrs. Moscheles
writes in May : '' My husband says it is far better you should
accustom yourselves to my letters, even when dealing with
musical matters, for we hear music together. He tells me
exactly what he thinks of everything, so that, although it is
second-hand, you have a minute and ungarbled account, and
more in detail. He cannot write, so long as, independent
of his own business, he must be the ' Deus ex machina' who
is to conjure up honor and appreciation for foreign artists.
And how are they to get ways and means when their artistic
means and ways are so slender? As in the case of H.'s
son. Heaven keep our boy from becoming such a nullity,
and trading on his father's name ! The poor fellow gave
a concert, and he excited nought but compassion. Once
more we have numbers of strangers here, Madame Oury,
n^e Belleville, with her husband, the violinist ; Kapellmeister
Bott, from Oldenburg, an excellent musician, and his daugh-
ter, a pianiste ; besides these, two Poles, one a pianoforte,
the other a violin player, the latter decked in a superlatively
white waistcoat, watch-chain, and with other mighty preten-
sions besides; two worthy Hanoverians, the flute player
Heinemeyer, and Hausmann the cellist ; Miiller, the double
bass player, whose variations on the lovely * Alexis' are an
infliction ; Braum, the hautboy player, and a whole family
of trumpeters, the Distins ; just imagine, a father and four
sons, all trumpeting together ; ratiier too much of a good
thing. These artists are all more or less excellent, and
from their repeated visits to our island will appropriate^- much



248 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

of its gold dust; but as the competition is immense, the
speedy success they expect for their undertakings is an im-
possibility, and we often find ourselves in the unpleasant
position of helping less than they expect. Every one comes
in and goes out of the house without any ceremony, so I call
it the artists' kaleidoscope, which brings us daily new com-
binations, sometimes in glaring and obtrusive, at others in
soft and sympathetic tones. Of course Thalberg is again
high up in the world of pianists. Herz, Rosenhain, and
Dohler have also their public, and belong to the brilliant
stars of my kaleidoscope ; when on a sudden is discovered
Johann Strauss, then it is no longer a kaleidoscope, but
Oberon's horn ; where he fiddles, all dance — dance they
must. In the concerts which he gives with his small orches-
tra, people dance as they sit ; at Almack's, the most fash-
ionable of all the subscription balls, aristocratical little feet
hop to his tunes, and we too Ihe other night at a party had
the good fortune to dance to his fiddling, and, old married
folk as we are, felt ourselves young again. He himself
dances ' corps et ame,' while he plays, not with his feet, but
with his fiddle, which is continually going up and down,
while the whole man marks the accent of every bar ; he is a
good-tempered Viennese, not of the refined type of a draw-
ing-room man, but amusing and always cheerful ; one has
had quite enough of the melancholy specimens. We are al-
ways delighted to make the acquaintance of a literary celeb-
rity, as for instance Alfred de Vigny, the arch-enemy of
George Sand. . . .

" Sir Charles and Lady Morgan had been very kind to
my husband when he was in Ireland. He had told me al-
ready a great deal about them, and lately introduced me to
the famous authoress. I am quite aware that it is to her
sincere respect for my husband's talent that I am indebted
for her kindness and friendliness shown towards myself.
Her eyes still sparkle with fire in spite of her sixty years.
She must have been very beautiful, and her liveliness is of
the genuine Irish sort."

Barnett wrote a new opera, " The Mountain Sylph," and
was still a popular composer. Benedict produced "The
Gipsy's Warning," Lord Burghersh, "II Torneo," and "Lu-
cia di Lammermoor " was still in the ascendant, the people



COROYATIOy OF QUEEX VICTORIA. 249

never tiring ofRubini's "Fra Poco.'* The warbling of the
lovely Cinti enchanted the public, and Fanny Elsler, the
essence of all grace, made a furore. The great event of the
season, however, was the Coronation of Queen Victoria.
Sir G;iorge Smart put Moscheles into a surphce, and placed
him as a bass singer in Westminster Abbey, that he might
witness the splendid ceremony, for tickets were not to be had
for lov^e or money. We quote from the diary: " What an
imposing sight, the gorgeously decorated temple, crowded
with splendidly dressed women, and what an impression
was created by the sight of the youthful Queen in her robes,
surrounded by all the grandees in her kingdom ! Everything
was imposing, but most of all Handel's chorus '^Zadock the
Priest," and his ' Hallelujah,' which moved one almost to
tears ; it was a deeply interesting moment when the venera-
ble Archbishop of York placed the Crown upon that virgin
brow. We were rather roughly recalled from our poetical
dream to the work-a-day world by W. K.'s Coronation An-
them — new and yet old-fashioned — composed expressly for
this part of the ceremony ; the materials were borrowed ; it
was as a composition grammatically correct, but utterly un-
interesting." Mrs. Moscheles copies this extract from the
diary for her relatives, and adds, " Before Moscheles drove
to the Abbey, he took me, my daughter, and niece to Lady
A.'s. We were invited to bt there not later than nine in the
morning, so as to avoid the crush, and there we were well
taken care of The house, as you know, is in Piccadilly,
almost opposite Constitution Hill. The A.'s had had a set
of benches erected in the shape of an amphitheatre, reaching
from the drawing-room door down to the street. The seats
were covered with scarlet cloth, and from our point of van-
tage we could see on the left the whole length of Piccadilly,
along which the Coronation Procession passed, coming and
going, and to the right, into the Park beyond. There was
a numerous and fashionable company assembled, so that the
time passed quickly, and Lady A. had provided an excel-
lent cold collation for her friends ; I needn't tell you how
choice it was. Shortly after nine o'clock the streets began
to fill with a surging crowd, all London was out in the streets,
mothers with babies in their arms, fathers holding up their
little ones to get a view, boys climbing on lamps and rail-
II*



2 - o i^E CENT M USIC A AW M U SI CI A NS.

ings ; such a medley and crowd as you can scarcely realize.
I may further add that the gold State coach, drawn by eight
cream-colored horses, is a splendid specimen of mediaeval
furniture ; that the young girl of eighteen, England's Queen,
looked very pretty, and that the Mistress of the Robes, the
Duchess of Sutherland, who sat opposite her, is a really noble
and majestic beauty."

August and the first half of September were a pleasant
holiday time, spent partly with some dear friends in Sussex.
Moscheles writes : I have found a good organ in the church
here, and the other day, at a funeral, I played the people
out of church with Handel's ' Dead March.' I am puzzled
to know what the farmers, rustics, and gravediggers think
of my playing." After a month spent in Hastings, he writes
in the middle of September : " Our bright holidays are at an
end, and ' sweet home ' sounds once more comfortable ; to-
day, however, the sky has caught a cold, and tlie rain pours
in such torrents that it almost invites men to drown them-
selves ; to escape the invitation I shall hold fast like Haydn,
' an meinem Spinettl' (by my piano). I play all the new
works of the four modern heroes, Thalberg, Chopin, Hen-
selt, and Liszt, and find that their chief effects lie in pas-
sages requiring a large grasp and stretch of finger, such as
the peculiar build of their hands enables them to execute ;
I grasp less, but then I am not of a grasping school. With
all my admiration for Beethoven I cannot forget Mozart,
Cramer, and Hummel Have they not written much that
is noble, with which I have been familiar from early years ?
Just now the new manner finds more favor, and I endeavor
to pursue the middle course between the two schools, by
never shrinking from any difficulty, never despising the new
effects, and withal retaining the best elements of the old
traditions. . . . The 'Pastoral Concerto' I am writing just
at present, has the shorter modern forms of three connected
movements, and is more light and lively than my last con-
certos ; I don't want to repeat myself in my own manner.
My lessons, about which you ask me, are just enough this
autumn to pay my tradesmen's bills.'" We quote a passage
from another letter: " I recommend you a small pamphlet
by Ries and Wegeler upon Beethoven, it has just been pub-
lished at Coblentz by Biideker \ and gives one an insight into



PASTORAL CONCERTO. 2$ I

(he wonderful life and works of Beethoven. I consider every
part of it authentic. What a pity it is that his last letters
are not complete, for they end with those written to Ries,
after which his correspondence with me bej^an. I must call
your attention to the fiftieth page, where Beethoven says he
has dedicated his last symphony with choruses to the King
of Prussia, and has sent him the manuscript. For all that,
at each of the three performances of the Ninth Symphony,
which I have conducted this year, I have had a score before
me corrected by Beethoven's own hand, and the title also
in his handwriting runs thus : ' Ninth Symphony, composed
for the Philharmonic Society in London, by Beethoven.' "

In another letter he writes : " We intend having Cham-
ber Music every Saturday, and Emily will help us ; our
chief pillar of strength will be that painstaking cellist Haus-
mann. On the very first evening Emily played the first and
second movement of Mozart's ' Quintet in E fiat, major;'
she has studied it thoroughly in the three days, and certainly
is very gifted by nature." Moscheles himself plays Beet-
hoven's grand Sonata op. 102, and says: " I am not quite
on good terms with that very learned fugue ; in my judg-
ment Beethoven's 'genius ' ranks higher than his learning."
Later on he plays Schubert's new Trios in E and B fiat,
" with their admirable construction and beautiful thoughts,
only occasionally a trifie too diffuse." On one occasion we
read in the diary : " Yesterday, our Saturday soir>^'e intro-
duced us to some less interesting Ensembles, but for all
that, we must go through all the novelties, invariably, how-
ever, interspersing them with classical works." There were
also two delightful Mendelssohn Saturdays, one for the
whole of " St. Paul," the other for pianoforte music. Mos-
cheles writes : " I tried my Pastoral Concerto ; it pleased
my friends, but occasionally doubts arise in my mind as to
whether my mode of composing on fixed principles does
not spoil that easy fiow and freshness which in my early
youth was so attractive, and yet I am glad to show the
musical world my greater earnestness and deeper aims,
however short my present success may be of what I might
wish."

In the course of this winter Moscheles wrote his Study
In A, 6-8 time, and the song " Liebesfriihling." Progress



2-2 ^'^ CE \' T M USIC A ND M U SI CI A NS

was made with the edition of Beethoven's works, and proof-
sheets corrected of Mendelssohn's " Andante and Presto ip
B Major and B Minor," and of Liszt's new " Studies." We
read : '• I declined the honor of being a director of the Phil-
harmonic for next season : for what can I do among seven ?
I, a passionate musical reformer, stand always alone ; it
ends alwavs with my being made responsible for what I con-
sider the mistakes of others." Hummel was dead, and
Moscheles had the flattering offer made him to fill his place
at Weimar. He hesitated for a moment, but preferred the
freedom of his position in London to the restraints of a
court and theatre, although he was very devoted to the
Grand-Ducal family, and convinced of their kind feelings
towards him.



CHAPTER XXI.
1839.

Ferdinand David — Successful Concert — Composers and Publishers—
Bernhard Romberg — Musical Novelties — Prince Louis Napoleon
— A New School of Playing — Paris — Chopin — Musical Entertain-
ments — Impressions of Artists — Aime Martin — Cremieux — Rachel
— Plays, Operas, Actors, and Singers — Performance before the
Court of St. Cloud — Chamber Music — Musical Education — Men-
delssohn — Adams the Organist.

THE Moscheles passed a very cheerful time in Janu-
ary with their friends the Flemings at their country
seat in Hampshire. The winter was spent as usual ; and
as early as March he writes : " I am already very bus}', and
must swim with the tide."

The visit of Ferdinand David from Leipzig was a
gjreat delight to the Moscheles. This worthy pupil of Spohr
played his master's music in a grand and noble style, his
own bravuras with faultless power of execution, and his
quartet playing at Mori's and Blagrove's soirees delighted
every one with any genuine artistic taste ; before he came,
such a perfect ensemble had never been realized. David
and Moscheles appeared together at the second Philhar-
monic Concert, David with a Concerto of his own, and
Moscheles with his new '• Pastoral Concerto." On this his
first appearance, David gained the high position which he
always retained, and the reception given to Moscheles'
new concerto was most favorable. From that time the two
artists frequently played together " At the house of Sir W.
Curtis, the great amateur violoncello player ; at Madame
DuJcken's concert given in Sir William's drawing-room ;

at , where, before the echo of our ' Kreutzer Sonata'

had died away we heard the lively strains of a quadrille ;
and finally in our own house, in the presence of, and with,
other artists ; it is there after all we enjoy music most."



254 RECENT MUSIC AND M USICIANS.

Mrs. Moscheles writes : " To-day I must tell you that
Moscheles intends giving his concert jointly with David,
who was quite ready merely to assist as a friend ; but Mos-
cheles preferred to share the undertaking with him, for by
that act he would prove to the public in what high esteem
he held his brother-artist. In him he has found a powerful
colleague of the German school, and one he is proud to in-
troduce to the English public." In a subsequent letter she
says : " This letter is a concert dispatch. It is over, and
gloriously over. The room was excellently filled without
the aid of Italian singers ; the Russian Grand Duke took
two tickets ; Prince Napoleon was in the stalls." Mos-
cheles played his new composition, the " Pastoral Con-
certo," dedicated to Mendelssohn ; it was received with
great applause.

" German and French artists," writes Moscheles, " the
latter with faultless gloves, meet at our house with English
friends, music forming a bridge of communication between
the different nationalities. If I could but link together
composers and publishers ! Just now, for instance, I am
annoyed at being unable to bring about the publication of
Bernhard Romberg's ' Violoncello School.' The fashion-
able wares of his rivals are now the order of the day, and
yet the work of this excellent man is of great value to the
students of that difficult instrument. Talking of difficulties,
Thalberg again astonished me at his concert ; he is a per-
fect Jupiter in power and bravura, and in his new ' Studies'
he has achieved the labors of Hercules. Mendelssohn,
with whom I correspond upon the subject of all musical
novelties in our days, shares my opinion. He and I are
greatly delighted with Bennett's overture to the ' Naiades,'
and the public greets it with enthusiasm."

This overture is so highly appreciated in Germany that
to this day it retains its place in the programmes of the
Gewandhaus and other concerts.

Mrs. Moscheles says in a letter : " We frequently meet
Prince Louis Napoleon at large evening parties, and are
naturally interested in seeing the lion of the season. He
talked in a very friendly way to Moscheles of years gone
by, when his mother, the Queen Hortense, took such de-
light in his playing, adding that he would never forget the



MODERN PIANISTS.



255



impression he had received as a boy. He was very polite
and agreeable to me, but I was not struck particularly with
anything he said ; generally speaking, on such occasions as
these he remains in some quiet corner of the room, as
though he preferred looking-on to talking." We find an-
other meeting recorded : " Our friend L">wenstern has
brought back from his travels all sorts of remarkable things,
and when by invitation 1 took the children to visit his new
museum, we met Prince Louis Napoleon there ; not a soul
was there besides. Again he admired in silence, examined
the beautiful armor with the airs of a connoisseur, and
was, as on the former occasion, very obliging ; we had no
opportunity of a regular conversation."

During this summer the subject of Moscheles' ceasing
to play in public was often discussed. Hitherto he had
basked in the sunshine of admiration, and the success of
his performances was beyond dispute. " How delightful
it would be to retire in the full tide of popular favor, in full
consciousness of powers ; to leave the field open to others,
and thus to escape being made the butt of such remarks
as: ' So-and-so plays still very beautifully, although he is
no longer what he was ten years ago ; he has lost his vigor,
his improvisation is no longer what it used to be,' etc. It is
the old story of a beauty famous in her day, but now faded,
who ought to give place to her more youthful rivals. I
think of Clementi, who has bequeathed to Art and her
disciples an imperishable treasure, and who gave up play-
ing while his juniors in the profession flourished by the
adoption of his method, only slightly modifying it and using
it as the basis of a new school. The leading features of
this school are the cultivation of amazing powers of execu-
tion, overwr6ught sentimentality, and the production of
piquant effects by the most rapid changes from the soft to the
loud pedal, or by rhythms and modulations, which, if not to
be completely repudiated, are only allowable on the rarest
occasions. It is quite natural that I should not ally my-
self to this modern faction ; a great deal they do, I would
not; their power I could not imitate, although in my own
school of playing I feel in full vigor without any trace of
age or want of nerve. In my school such a prodigal
display oi mechanical power was a thing unknown. For



256 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

the future, should the world take less interest in my per-
formances as an executant, my desire will be the more ardent
to cultivate music in accordance with my own taste and
convictions. As to how and what I shall compose, this too
is veiled in the future. Hitherto I have introduced my
works to the public by the medium of my own piano-
forte playing; will the musical world when I retire con-
tinue to take interest in them ? ' Nous verrons.' "

In the course of the summer his father-in-law suggests
his doubling the price of his lessons, in order to diminish
their number, but he replies; "I can't make up my mind
to such a step, for people might well accuse me of selfish-
ness, and that too in a country to which I am very mainly
indebted for my present position."

The family enjoyed their stay at Boulogne before going
to Paris for two months, and forgetting for awhile public
concerts and professional duties, made themselves acquaint-
ed with the environs of Paris, and explored the Louvre,
Luxembourg, and other galleries. Such things of course
delighted him, but we find Moscheles always glad to turn to
musicians for his real interest, and one of his letters shows
us he was about to gratify his long-harbored wish of mak-
ing Chopin's acquaintance. " We are living here in the
fullest enjoyment of our freedom and independence, and at
Leo's, v/here I love to make music, I first met his frjend
Chopin, who had just returned from the country. His ap-
pearance is completely identified with his music — they are
both delicate and sentimental (schwarmerisch). He played
to me in compliance with my request, and T now for the first
time understand his music, and all the raptures of the lady
world become intelligible. The ad libitum playing, which
in the hands of other interpreters of his music degenerates
into a constant uncertainty of rhythm, is with him an ele-
ment of exquisite originality ; the hard inartistic modula-
tions, so like those of a dilettante — which I never can manage
when playing Chopin's music — cease to shock me, for he
glides over them almost imperceptibly with his elfish fingers.
His soft playing being a mere breath, he requires no power-
ful forte to produce the desired contrasts ; the consequence
is that one never misses the orchestral effects that the Ger-
man school demands of a pianoforte- player, but is carried



CHOPIN. 257

away as by some singer who troubles himself very little
about the accompaniment, and follows his own impulses.
Enough ; he is perfectly unique in the world of pianoforte-
players. He professes a great attachment for my music,
and at all events knows it perfectly. He played me some
of his Studies, and his latest work, 'Preludes;' I played
in return several things of my own." Who would have be-
lieved that Chopin, with all his sentimentahty, had also a
comic vein? And yet among repeated notices about the
playing and listening to music in artist and amateur circles,
we read the following : " Chopin was lively, cheerful, nay,
extremely funny in his imitations of Pixis, Liszt, and a hump-
backed pianoforte connoisseur." Again : " To-day he was
quite a different Chopin from the Chopin last week. I visited
him by appointment with Charlotte and Emily, who are his
enthusiastic admirers : they were profoundly impressed with
the Prelude in A flat major in 6-8 time, with the perpetually
recurring A flat resembling the pedal bass of an organ.
Chopin's excellent pupil Gutmann played his manuscript
Scherzo in C sharp minor, Chopin himself his manuscript
Sonata in B flat minor, with the Funeral March." On
another occasion Moscheles plays his own Trio and Men-
delssohn's D minor Concerto, which to his annoyance is " not
understood." Beethoven, Weber, his own " Studies," his
Irish Fantasia, and Mozart's Fugue in F minor, with Cramer
(who is living at the time in Paris), and Moscheles' Sonata
in E flat major, for four hands, are never-failing items in the
programmes of these musical entertainments. Stephen
Heller is called in the diary " an interesting and pleasant
young artist," Bertini's "Studies" "admirable for practice,
but difluse in form." "Thalberg is here, and after crowded
concerts receives as much blame as praise ; but when one
of the wise re\aewers goes so far as to compare him with
Van Amburgh the lion-tamer, one can only laugh." Mos-
cheles says in one of his letters : " I have now come to the
end of my round of visits to artists, and have received very
varied impressions. Berlioz, whose acquaintance I was anx-
ious to make, was very cold and unsympathizing. His ex-
quisitely-penned score of ' Romeo and Juliet' lay upon the
table ; I turned over some of the pages, but found the work
so complicated, and the noise (at my very first glance) so



258 RE CEN T M USIC A ND M U SI CI A NS.

overwhelming, that I cannot venture as yet to give any judg-
ment on the music. One thing, however, is certain — that
there must be new effects in it. At the house of Auber,
who received me in the most friendly way, 1 was greatly
interested by seeing the square piano on which he has com-
posed his operas. He made me play on his Erard as well,
and Zimmerman n, the professor of the Conservatoire, hap-
pening to come in, between them they kept me at the piano
some time. Cherubini, usually not the most courteous of
men, was very friendly ; we had a good hour's earnest con-
versation on art matters. He said that, with the exception
of his Directorship at the Conservatoire, he had nothing
more to do with music ; he couldn't write another note, he
wasn't strong enough to hear and enjoy musical impressions.
I think I might have assured him without flattery that he
belongs to the few who even in their lifetime have already
earned immortality. Heine I found the genius I have ever
known him to be. As for my poor Lafont, I saw him lying
in his coffin while the funeral service was being held in the
church of St. Roch ; the music was Cherubini's, but without
organ accompaniment, to my taste an indispensable
adjunct.

'' We were delighted to make the acquaintance of Aimj
Martin, the writer ; his work ' Sur I'Education du Genre
Humain paries Meres de Famille,' had been long known to
us, and we found the author's conversation as entertaining
and instractive as the book itself. Cr.'mieux is charming
also, but in another style. As an advocate he speaks with
ease and fluency ; as a man he is highly intellectual, fond
of art and artists. He calls the great Rachel his adopted
daughter, although her parents are still alive ; poor thing,
she is just recovering from a severe illness, and consequently
we unfortunate people cannot get a glimpse of her. A bach-
elor party at Meyerbeer's yesterday was very interesting.
Halevy, Duponchel, Duprez, Habeneck, and Kilstner, the
Intendant of the Munich theatres, were there. Habeneck
and I entertained each other at dinner by talking about the
Conservatoire and the Philharmonic, as two ministers of
different States discuss their politics. He wanted me to
send him something of my own for his orchestra. I prom-
ised him my overture to the ' Joan of Arc' He offered to



CHOPIN.



259



come to-morrow and hear me play. Meyerbeer acted as my
friend on all occasions ; he said aloud at dinner that 1 was
the only one who could play Beethoven perfectly."

Of course the Moscheles, during their stay at Paris, were
in the way of every theatrical novelty, and actors and artists
are constantly discussed in letters. '' Arnold's comic
acting," says Mrs. Moscheles, "is very amusing; but the
piece, ' Passe Minuit/ is too realistic to my taste. The new
opera, ' La Jacquerie,' is said to be nicknamed by Auber
' An Opera in D,' from the fact of that key being so prom-
inently used throughout the work." " Guido and Gin^vre,"
by Halevy, Moscheles calls " excellent well-written music ; "
but he cannot feel any enthusiasm for it. After seeing
" Robert le Diable," a great part of which Moscheles ad-
mired and praised, Mrs. Moscheles writes : " Can you under-
stand how people can set such horrors to music ? The one
writes about the plague ; the other worse. I am no saint ;
but organ playing and church music are out of place in a
theatre. And when the graves open, and the dead nuns
rise, I can't help shuddering." " And I ditto," adds Mos-
cheles, " when deafened by such a mass of horns, bassoons,
and ophicleides that they drown the rest of the orchestra,
and make a buzzing in my ears, much as I honor and re-
spect Meyerbeer's great talent. The chorus was much too
weak to struggle against these orchestral masses. The
scenery, even including that of the nuns, fell short of my
expectations. Mario and Dorus Gras were admirable ; the
rest only second-rate. Hal'vy's ' Sheriff is a clever piece
of mosaic, but not so neatly joined." Again : " Doesn't
one see and hear every mortal thing in Paris ? We, for in-
stance, heard the ' Huguenots 'for the first time ; it is a great,
nay, Meyerbeer's greatest work, and it produced a power-
ful effect upon me. Rossini's ' Barber of Seville,' with Pau-
line Garcia, Rubini, and Tnmburini, is also not to be despis-
ed ; for the extraordinary vocal powers of these three artists
cannot fail to excite wonder. Duprez is an admirable Tell.
Boutfe at the Gymnase, D jazet at the Palais Royal, and
Sanson and Mars at the Theatre Fran9ais, give us enjoy-
ments we would fain share with you ! To-day I got a note
from Count Perthuis, Adjutant to King Louis Philippe. The
Count has often heard Chopin and myself play my ' E flat



26o RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

major Sonata.' 1 expect he has talked a good deal about
it at Court, 'for,' he writes, 'the Royal Family wish to have
the great treat I lately enjoyed.' " Accordingly Chopin and
Moscheles were both commanded to go to St. Cloud. Mos-
cheles writes on the 30th of October : " On the day when
Kalkbrenner called I said, ' To-day I shall play on a piano
of yours at St. Cloud.' He jumped up from his chair and
declared that not a moment was to be lost ; he must see if the
instrument was in the best order. He also told me that
the Duchess of Orleans, having taken lessons from him in
playing and composition, knew perfectly well how to appre-
ciate good music. At nine o'clock Chopin and I were called
for by P. and his charming wife. We all four went off in a
pelting storm of rain, and felt more comfortable when we
entered the warm and brilliantly lighted palace. We passed
through some splendid apartments, to a ' salon carre,'
where only the Royal Family was assembled ; the Queen at
a round table, with an elegant work-basket before her (I
wonder whether she was knitting a purse for me ?). Next
to her was Madame Ade^laide, the Duchess of Orleans, and
the ladies of the Court. They one and all treated us kindly,
as if we were old acquaintances. The Queen as well as
Madame Adiliide, declared that they still remembered with
gratitude the delight I gave them at the Tuileries. The
King came up to me to say the same thing, adding, he sup-
posed an interval of between fifteen and sixteen years had
elapsed since that time. I said he was quite correct, but
thought all the while of the poor Count d'Artois, who had then
been present. The Queen then asked if the instrument — a
Pleyel — was placed as we liked it ; was the lighting what
we wanted t if the chairs were the right height, etc. ; and
was as anxious for our comfort as a Citizen Queen might
well be. First of all Chopin played a 'melange of Noc-
turnos and Etudes,' and was extolled and admired as an old
Court favorite. I followed with some old and new ' Studies,'
and was honored with similar applause. We then sat down
together at the instrument, he again playing the bass, a
thing he always insists on. The small audience now listened
intently to my ' E flat major Sonata,' which was interrupted
by such exclamations as ' divin ! delicieux!' After the An-
dante the Queen whispered to one of her suite: 'Ne serait-



MOSCI/ELES AND CHOPIN AT ST. CLOUD. 261

il pas indiscret de le leur redemander ? ' which was tanta-
mount to a comm;ind ; so we played it again with increased
abandon., and in the Finale gave ourselves up to a ' musical
delirium.'

" Chopin's enthusiasm throughout the whole performance
of the piece must, I think, have kindled that of his hearers,
who overwhelmed us both with compliments equally divid-
ed. Chopin played another solo as charmingly as before,
and met with the same reception. I then improvised on
some of Mozart's sweetest airs, and finally dashed away at
the 'Zauberflote' overture. Better than all the words of
praise which flow so glibly from the lips of princes, was the
king's close attention during the entire evening. Chopin
and 1 revelled like brothers in the triumph achieved by the
individual talent of each, there was no tinge of jealousy on
either side. At last, after being allowed to enjoy some re-
freshments, we left the palace at 11.30, this time only under
a shower of compliments, for the rain had ceased, and we
had a clear night." Naturally after this time Chopin and
Moscheles were called upon almost daily in musical circles
to repeat the Sonata, which came at last to be called and
only known by the name of " La Sonate." Shortly after
this Moscheles is asked privately whether the legion cthofi-
neur or any other mark of royal favor, would be valued as a
reward for his playing at St. Cloud. He prefers something
else to the order so lavishly bestowed, and receives a valua-
ble dressing-case, on which are engraved the words " Donne
parle Roi Louis-Philippe."

When the Moscheles return to London, chamber music
on Saturdays is again revived ; he works on the " Methode
des Mt'thodes," to be published with Fetis, and writes the
" Lieder :" " Mit Gott " and " Liebeslauschen."

In answer to a question, whether constant piano-forte
studies under a teacher are beneficial, after a certain pitch
of excellence has been attained by cultivation, he says :
" Any one who has heard and studied a great deal that is
good, ought to need no teacher to spur him on. The stu-
dent should always bear in mind the greatest models and
emulate them, playing a great deal with accompaniment ;
he should become more and more familiar with masterpieces,
and enter earnestly into a sense of their beauties : thus



262 ^^' CE^' T M USrC A ND M U SI CI A .VS.

the gradual development the pupil attains, will place him a-
bove the common run of amateurs." This year there was
an improvement at the Philharmonic, for the directors de-
termined at a meeting to put a stop to the mischief of ad-
mitting a large audience to rehearsals. " We had however
a violent debate," says Moscheles, ''before we carried our
point."

With regard to Handel's " Solomon," he writes : " That
glorious work could not be spoiled by the organ being below
pitch, painful as it was. Clara Novello, Phillips, and the
other singers were admirable." '' Mendelssohn," writes Mrs.
Moscheles, " has not merely written a letter, but copied into
it a new, and of course exquisite Lied, set to old German
words : ' Es ist in dem Wald gesungen.' Nobody like him
for kindness and real friendship. At present the song is
sung constantly in the 'room,' not in the 'wood ;' and each
time it seems prettier than the last. Last week we heard
the two new organs built by Gray, one for Belfast, the other
for Exeter Hall, and Moscheles admires exceedingly the fin-
ished execution and extempore playing of Adams the organ-
ist, who tried them. On the last night of the old year we
had charades, etc., the musical friends taking the chief
parts : Thalberg, grave and solemn at the piano, is up to any
fun away from it. Benedict, the hard-worked, enters into
the mirth of the masqueraders ; last, not least, Moscheles
enlivens the scene with his gymnastics on the piano."



CHAPTER XXII.

1840.

1-etter to a Friend — Sir Gardner Wilkinson — Appointed Pianist to
Prince Albert — Literary and Artistic Acquaintances — Liszt — Po-
litical Questions — Mendelssohn at Birmingham — Visit to Germany
— Correspondence — Intercourse \^ ith Artists at Leipzig — Chorley
• — Prague — Moscheles' Mother — Reception at Concerts — Dionys
Weber — Auf Wiedersehen — A Hit at Thiers — Works on Music —
Letter from Mendelssohn.



T



HE first letter now before us is to Frau von Lewinger,
one of the oldest of Moscheles' friends : —

" London, Sth January, 1840.



*' Dearest Frau von Lewinger, — You must allow your
old friend Moscheles to have a little chat with you, and
question you to find out what you are about, and if you still
love him. I fear that, judging by my scanty letters, I must
have sunk considerably in the scale of your good opinion,
and I can only hope to find the old indulgence. . . . The gifted
Thalberg is brilliantly successful, and is now on his way to
Scotland. It interests me to watch the younger artists
making their career, as I now begin to play the part of a
quiet looker-on, and to follow my art-vocations with an ever-
increasing devotion, but still in greater privacy tJian before.
Accordingly 1 hold a weekly meeting of friends and artists
at my own house, where none but the most select music is
performed. My eldest daughter, now twelve years old, con-
tributes her mite, and develops a solid power of execution
on the pianoforte. I delight in giving my children a thor-
ough education, without having the ambition of seeing them
pass for prodigies. Besides that, I don't wish them to make
music their profession." .... "Thalberg intends to go to
America. The clashing here with Liszt is, I suppose, too
much for him."



264 RECEXT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

At this time Moscheles received his appointment as
pianist to Prince Albert, but it was little more than nomi-
nal, for, much as he would have liked to have had close
artistic relations with that music-loving Prince, he was
never called on to examine any of the Prince's composi-
tions. As we have already mentioned, pianoforte-playing
in public became more distasteful to him, but, in spite of
his resolution, he did not like to refuse the often repeated
invitation of the directors to play at the Philharmonic,
where he again enjoyed a triumph. Among Moscheles'
literary acquaintance at this period were Sir Gardner Wil-
kinson, Mr. Grote, the famous historian. Mrs. Austin, Mrs.
Jameson, and others ; of musical celebrities, we read the
names of Dohler, Litolff, Liszt — the latter never looked on
as a rival, but as a friend of the family. How sincerely
Moscheles appreciated Liszt, will be seen from the follow-
ing letter : —

" At one of the Philharmonic Concerts, he played three
of my ' Studies' quite admirably. Faultless in the way of
execution, but by his powers he has completely metamor-
phosed these pieces ; they have become more his Studies
than mine. With all that they please me, and I shouldn't
like to hear them played in any other way by him. The
Paganini Studies, too, were uncommonly interesting to me.
He does anything he chooses, and does it admirably, and
those hands raised aloft in the air come down but seldom,
wonderfully seldom, upon a wrong key." "His conversa-
tion is always brilliant," adds Mrs. Moscheles; "it is
occasionally dashed with satire, or spiced with humor."
^'The other day he brought me his portrait, with his 'hom-
mages respectueux' written underneath, and, what was the
best 'hommage' of all, he sat down to the piano and played
me the ' Erl-King,' the 'Ave Maria,' and a charming Hun-
garian piece. He now intends making an excursion to
Baden-Baden, after that a tour of the English provinces
with Cramer (at 500/. a month), and then to go to St.
Petersburg for recreation."

Moscheles writes : " We have now to tell you of a Rus-
sian episode in our mad harum-scarum life in the height of
the season. It is merely this ; that Lwoff, recommended
to me by Mendelssohn, is distinguished as a violin-player,



MEIVDELSSOHN'S '' HYMN OF PRAISED 265

and is a downright good musician. I delight in making
music with him before other enthusiastic Russian amateurs
now in London. Yesterday, I am sorry to say, a letter
came from Mendelssohn to Charlotte, in which he repre-
sents himself as tired and weak, adding that possibly he
will be obliged by his doctor's advice to give up the Bir-
mingham Music Festival. This question will not be set-
tled until he returns from Schwerin ; so we still hope, in
spite of his letter, which is a Job's comforter."

During the summer holidays Moscheles, by request of
Mr. Murray the publisher, put together his recollections of
Beethoven.

Anxiety on Mendelssohn's account is at last relieved by
a letter from Felix himself, announcing his intended arrival
in September. Before he came there was a private rehear-
sal of his " Lobgesang" at the Hanover Square Rooms.
Moscheles writes on the subject thus : " I am greatly
charmed with his composition, and as Knyvett, the con-
ductor, and F. Cramer knew of my thorough knowledge of
the work, they asked me to sit close to the organist, in the
centre of the orchestra, that they might consult me about
the Tempi. I was like a general sitting in his tent and
issuing orders for operations on the field of battle ; at the
same time, I carefully guarded against any appearance of
wishing to usurp the duty of the regularly appointed con-
ductor. In spite of this, the Morning Post says that the
rehearsal was conducted by me and Knyvett."

We see by the following letter tliat Moscheles interested
himself in the political questions of the day: "Let me
begin with Prince Louis Napoleon. I pity him, for I know
him personally as a polite, well-educated young man.
Certainly one would not have predicated of him that he
ever meditated the scheme that has now proved abortive.
Dark clouds are still lowering on the political horizon,
although in my judgment they do not immediately threaten.
I have been trying zealously to make out the cause of dis-
cord between the opposing states ; between ourselves, I
think Mohammed Ali unfairly treated. I don't believe that
the Allies will allow England to be involved in a war with
them merely on the ground of France being excluded from
the treaty. Let the worst come, the Continent will not be
12



2 66 RE CEN T M USIC A ND M U SI CI A XS.

SO shut out from England as to prevent Prince Albert's
pianist from travelling unmolested to and fro between the
two countries ; consequently we are always thinking of
our trip to l^oulogne. To-day we are impatiently expecting
Mendelssohn ; on Saturday he is to have a rehearsal in
Birmingham."'

On the 20th of September Moscheles and his friend,
who had safely arrived, go to Birmingham together ; Mrs,
Moscheles, who is to follow next day, receives the follow-
ing letter from her husband : —

" Take fresh courage when you read these lines, and
fly to Birmingham as fast as we did. My conversation
with Mendelssohn was lively as it was interesting ; you
often were the subject, and our thoughts were constantly
of you. I put up at once at the comfortable Stork Hotel,
and dined with Mendelssohn and Ayrton at the house of
Mr. Moore — one of the Festival committee — where Men-
delssohn is staying. I wrote in his bedroom, from whence
we were called away to dinner, and now, instead of taking
my siesta. I resume my pen, to tell you that the choral
rehearsal is to be this evening. Before it begins I am to
go with Mendelssohn to the Music Hall, where he is going
to play on the organ. I will receive you at the station."
Mendelssohn writes : —

" I must be allowed to smuggle in my greetings, and
say how delightful and kind and affectionate he was to me
during our journey hither ; how the hours flew by as if they
were minutes, and how I am forever thinking what one
couid do in return for such real kindness. Such a return,
however, I cannot find, not even in writing; but all the
more in my heart. To our happy meeting to-morrow I My
best love to the children.

" Ever yours,

" Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy."

At the same time Mrs. Moscheles writes : —

" Our dear Mendelssohn — I can call him by no other
name — arrived at 4 p. m. on the 8th. At seven o'clock he
was with us ; the same heart}', cheerful, delightful old
friend as ever. In a word he is a model man. At dinner.



MENDELSSOHN A T BIRMINGHAM.



2bj



and the whole evening, we talked over memories of bygone
happy hours ; then he drew Moscheles to the piano and
made him play all his favorite ' Studies ;' and as each is a
favorite, and kindled him to fresh enthusiasm, it was not
before midnight that he paid any heed to my third sum-
mons to be off to bed and rest. On Saturday he was again
with us between four and live o'clock, and Moscheles being
called away to a pupil, he and I were left for an hour alone
together. He played with Emily his overture to the ' Fin-
gals Cave,' and was greatly pleased with her performance,
and with her own little compositions. Chorley and Klinge-
mann came to dinner, and in the evening little Felix en-
joyed such a game of romps with his famous godpapa that
the whole house trembled. Who would have thought that
the same man who romped about wdth a tiny boy could
extemporize as he does ? For the two M.'s improvise to-
gether on themes for each other's works ; when I call this
'glorious,' 'fine,' 'remarkable,' etc., the e-ithets all fall
short of true description. I hadn't heard them play to-
gether for seven years, and my impression was, it was
worth the trouble of waiting seven years for. On Sunday
at nine o'clock Mendelssohn was again with us ; he and
Moscheles started, and the children and I accompanied
him and papa to the railway station, for Birmingham, and I
followed next day. Early on Tuesday morning we strolled
down to the Music Hall, and Mendelssohn sat by us until
he got up to play the organ. He played a fugue of Bach's
in a most masterly way ; besides this we had ' Israel in
Egypt,' and the inevitable * Miscellaneous Selection.' We
did not go to the evening concert, but sat at home chatting
with Mendelssohn, who had much to tell us about his wife.
The portrait he showed us makes her very pretty, and ac-
cording to him she must be an angel."

On the 23d of September Moscheles writes : " Men-
delssohn's appearance here has given me fresh enjoyment
of life. After my own family, he ranks next in my affec-
tions. I see him in various characters, as a brother, son,
lover ; but chiefly as a fiery musical enthusiast, who ap-
pears but dimly conscious to what a height he has already
attained. He knows so well how to adapt himself to this
commonplace world, although his genius soars so high



268 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

above it. While Birmingham prided herself on bringing
out his newest work, he still found time to make a pen-and
ink drawing of Birmingham for our children. We have a
view of the town with its chimneys, warehouses. Town Hall,
and the railway carriage in which he and I sat — the per-
spective is throughout remarkably good, and there are
some witty explanations added. In the evening I walked
home with him ; our chat was so delightful that he insisted
on walking back with me two good English miles, but I
would only allow him to go part of the way. The night
was coldish : he had only just recovered from an illness,
and with so much work before him, I knew he wanted rest.
Yesterday at an early hour the Town Hall again looked
very imposing. The second part of the performance was
devotea to Mendelssohn ; he was heartily received with
ringing cheers, but seemed all anxiety to make his bow to
the public, and get the thing over. Of course this was
sheer modesty. His conducting of the band in this per-
formance of the ' Lobgesang' effected a marvellous unity
and precision, and one of the chorales of this glorious work
told so powerfully that the whole audience rose involun-
tarily from their seats — a custom usually confined in Eng-
land to the performance of the Hallelujah Chorus. At
three o'clock in the afternoon, when the hall was emptied,
Mendelssohn, fresh as ever, played for three-quarters of an
hour upon the organ before a select circle, as though his
day were but just beginning. The same evening we he^rd,
first of all, in the theatre, one act of the ' Gazza Ladra,'
with Caradori and Lablache, then Mendelssohn's ' G Minor
Concerto,' played by himself with wonderful fire and deli-
cacy, and last of all, Lablache, v. ho had joined the party,
gave his irresistible comic scene from the * Prova d'un
Opera Seria.' What a musical maw the English must
have, to be able to digest such a quantity in one day !

*' To-day at an early hour we leave Birmingham. Char-
lotte has started the idea of my accompanying Mendelssohn
to Germany to see my mother, who is in ill health. Men-
delssohn will remain in London until I have installed my
own family in some country place."

Before leaving they ask Chorley to join them in their
journey, and as a parting gift to Mrs. Moscheles, Mendels-



THE DOVER MAIL-COACH.



269



sohn fills a whole sheet of her album with pen-and-ink
sketches. Chorley illustrates these with doggerel verses.
Moscheles adds some parting words, and at midnight the
Dover mail-coach rolls away with the three travellers. Un-
fortunately there is a fourth seat occupied by a stranger,
happily asleep. One of the friends remarks, "What shall
we do with him when he wakes up? " " Kill him, that's the
only way," says another. At that moment the sleeper stirs.
Of course the speakers are alarmed, fearing they have been
overheard ; but Moscheles, with that admirable presence
of mind pecuhar to him, breaks in with the following words
in English, ' And afterwards she said she never would have
that man for a husband," a sentence which from that mo-
ment became a proverb among the party. Mendelssohn,
like the people in Homer, "laughs through tears," and the
fit becomes contagious. What must the man, still asleep,
have thought of his companions?

When the three friends, after a roughish eight hours'
passage to Ostend, are sitting in Moscheles' warm bedroom,
it is his first business to write to his wife. Chorley supple-
ments the letter with a few words ; Mendelssohn again
makes a pen-and-ink sketch, a steamer rolling about in a
stormy sea, and underneath the words : —

" Heiss mich nicht reden,heiss mich schweigen." — Schiller.

" Es giebt Augenblicke im Menschenleben." — Goethe.
" Here the ship gave a lurch, and he grew sea-sick." — Byron.

" But," says Mendelssohn, " all three of us are sitting
very comfortably around the fire in Moscheles' room, and
think of you."

They proceed in Mendelssohn's carriage with post-horses,
and Moscheles writes from Liege : —

" Sunday Evening, 4th October, 1840.
" Hotel du Pavilion Anglais.

" We had an excellent journey with sunny weather to
help us, and I had much confidential talk with Mendelssohn.
We have communicated to one another many details of our
courtship days, as to the where and how we came to pop the



2/0



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



question, ending by declaring that we were thorouglily sat-
isfied with our choices. He reckons on my staying eigiit
days with them in Leipzig."

" Same Evening, Eight o'clock.

" We wanted to sleep at Aix, but are obliged to stay
here, as the axle of the carriage is broken. He is inconso-
lable, particularly on our account, although we tried to put
him in spirits. He was expecting letters here from his wife,
and as I had unfortunately none to expect from mine, I ran
to the door to fetch his letters, making believe it was for
myself. The letter I brought him restored him his natural
good humor. At dinner, Chorley proposed, in champagne,
the healths of the Frau Professorin and Frau Doctorin ; and
then Mendelssohn and I read in the Cafe of the abdication
of the King of Holland, Napier's taking of Beyrout (I fear
it's a bad business for Mehemet Ali, now seventy-one years
old), and Louis Napoleon's defence by Berryer, and here I
begin to nod."

" Aix-la-Chapelle, Monday, 5th October, 1840.
"Eleven at Night.

" Not having chatted with you all day, let me do so be-
fore I go to bed. This is my third letter. While waiting
for Mendelssohn's carriage, we found time to see some
churches. The journey was a satisfactory one, and here
we have had no end of friendly meetings, first with the
Mayers, v;hose geniality delighted Mendelssohn as well as
myself; then Ole Bull and Eicke, the singer, joined us:
afterwards in came a long gaunt figure of the Don Quixote
kind, and embraced me — it was Schindler. He greeted
Mendelssohn, who returned the salutation, although, as I
saw, with some mental reserve. I purposely did not intro-
duce him to Chorley, and only gave him a secret hint that
he had the biographer before him. To Schindler I said
that the Englishman was our common friend. Ole Bull
bored Mendelssohn to death on the subject of G. Schelling,
who had attacked him fiercely in print. Schindler emphati
cally annihilated music and musicians of the present day.



DINNER-PARTY AT DA VID'S.



271



Mayer fondly recalled old days, and there sat Chorley look-
ing on, biting his handkerchief, and getting materials for
the At/i€fi{eu7n"

The travellers go by way of Cologne and Frankfort to
Leipzig; there Moscheles writes to his wife : " We arrived
late last night, and I have a great deal to tell you. Felix,
in the room next to me, is teaching his little boy to sing. 1
have been very heartily received in his house, his wife is
very charming, very unassuming, and child-like, but not in
my judgment a perfect beauty, because she is a blonde.
Her mouth and nose are like Sontag's, her way of speaking
is pleasing and simple, her German is ' Frankforty,' there-
fore not pure ; she said naively at dinner : ' I speak too
slowly for my Felix, and he so quickly that I don't always
understand him.' She is so simple in her ways that she
often got up to hand us something. I told her I hoped you
and she would become intimate, and she echoed the wish ;
meanwhile you are often the subject of our conversation.

"At this morning's rehearsal I was received with open
arms by the Concert Directors as well as David, Schumann,
and his wife. They, as well as Mendelssohn, keep on say-
ing 'Do stay and play;' but I am undecided. I intend,
however, to be as fresh and lively as Mendelssohn, who
jumps about with his children. Dear children, I can only
kiss you in imagination, but when I return, 1 shall have a
pretty story to tell you. Dear Clara ! Adieu !

"The Mendelssohns send affectionate messages."

*' Leipzig, Monday, 12th October, 1840.
" Eleven o'clock at Night.

"A little about myself. Yesterday afternoon I was a
long time alone with Mendelssohn, who played me some
numbers which had been intended for ' St. Paul,' but which
were never performed or printed. They are admirable,
only treated in a more dramatic way, and therefore per-
haps more adapted for isolated pieces in the concert-room
than to be heard in connection with the oratorio itself.
He played me also some charming MS. 'Lieder ohne
Worte.' At 2.30 we dined at David's, where we met Ce-
cile's sister, Madame Schunck, and her husband ; she is a



2/2



RECEyr MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



bright, clever woman. Madame David too was a new and
very agreeable acqaaintance ; her manners are very refined.
David played us after dinner his new violin ' Concerto in
D major,' which is certain to create a general sensation ;
Mendelssohn accompanied, then I had to extemporize, and
1 hope tolerably well. At 6.30 we went to the Gewandhaus,
which was already filled to overflowing. I was in the
orchestra with Mendelssohn who was received with accla-
mations, well warranted by the performance of the Euryanthe
Overture and Beethoven's B. flat Symphony. His influence
over the band gave it the fire, tenderness, and requisite
'nuances.' 1 was in ecstasies. Fancy the concert over at
eight o'clock ! It rained heavily, and no cabs to be had at
Leipzig! When once home we found the warm room and
tea most comfortable; then Mendelssohn sang me some of
his recently published songs, which I shall bring with me,
and said : ' Cecile, you must venture on singing a little
Leid to Moscheles, and let him accompany you.' She
made the same excuses that certain people always do, and
then sang the old German Leid



11



and two others ; her voice is small, but her intonation
correct.

"Monday. — I called on Schumann and Rochlitz ;
Madame Schumann played me a fugue of Bach's. I staid
a long time at Hofrath Rochlitz's. The directors came,
wanting me to play a week hence, but I refused.

*' Tuesday, Midnight. — the Mendelssohns gave an even-
ing party, when David's quartet playing was admirable.
I played ray * E major Concerto' and ' Studies.' To end
up, Felix called for my repertoire of tricks on the piano,
and we extemporized together as a finale, a production quite
as good as our last effort in London. Now G-o-o-d Night."

On the nth of October Chorley gives Mrs. Moscheles
a long account of all the doings at Leipzig, and Mendels-
sohn adds : " Dear Mrs. Moscheles, a thousand, thousand
thanks for the plan of your own and no one else's devising,



CARL MENDELSSOHN.



27,



and to which we are now indebted for such delightful, such
glorious days. Would that you were present ! for your
absence is a radical fault, only too obvious to every one of
us here ; I wish I had insisted on carrying off your ward-
robe myself; we are so happy and cheerful here altogether ;
still I fancy I often see how Moscheles longs for quite
another part of the world. How gloriously he played again
yesterday, enchanting us all. * Had you been present,' that
is the old song with the old burden. Cecile wants to write
to you herself. A thousand loves to the children, and
yourself

" From yours,
"Felix Mendelssohn- Bartholdy."

Moscheles adds a postscript: "For the last two days
we have had the most glorious summer weather, but the
vintage, they tell me, will be very bad. Mendelssohn's
Carl, as usual, is in my room while I dress myself; he is
an excellent, lively, clever boy, and helps to compensate
me for my absent pair of juveniles, Felix and Clara. His
ear for music is the most subtle I have ever observed in a
child. He sings the following Prussian Posthorn signal as
a duet with his father :

Text : Da da da da da.




Karl,



Fe - lix.







" Leipzig, i8th October, 1840.
** (A day worthy to be remembered.)

" Chorley, being unwell, had to stay in his hotel, and



274 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

Mendelssohn in his kindness sent him an Erard piano,
upon which he played for him Schubert's 'Grand Sym-
piiony' and my 'Grand Sonata.' Mendelssohn and I had
again some glorious hours at the piano. Yesterday we
were together at Schumanns', who gave a party in their
own house. Madame Schumann played my ' Trio' and
Mendelssohn's in a consummate way ; David accompanied,
and as a finale I was made to play some ' Studies.' Friiu-
lein List sang some ' Leider' in a pretty, cultivated style.
On Friday a gigantic dinner at Kistner's .... In the
evening with Schleinitz at Mendelssohn's ; we passed most
of our time at the piano, and rummaging among old and
new manuscripts.

" The Directors have been to me repeatedly, to per-
suade me to play on the 22d ; Mendelssohn did the same ;
I remained firm. ' Possibly,' said I, ' I may be here again
for the concert on the 29th and shall write about it from
Prague.' I will not plague you with a volley of questions,
for I know that you write to me of everything that is agree-



MfS. Moscheles
is invited to a Musical Party on Monday the igtA inst. at 6
d clock precisely, in the Concert-room of the Gewatidhans by

Felix Mendelssohti-Bartholdy ,

to hear there his " 42nd Psalm," with orchestra and full Chorus,
as well as the overture to the " Hebrides " and that to " Joan
of Arc." The veteran pianoforte-player (as Fink calls him in
the Musik-Zeitung) Moscheles, will play his G minor Concerto
and Bach's Triple Concerto with Madame Schumann and Dr.
F. Mendelssohn ; some Characteristic Studies will also be heard.

This card you wiH be asked to show on entering the door of
the Concert-room.

[If the card be not produced. Prof. Moscheles is to be sent
back to London, in order to meet with that applause which here
can only be incomplete.]

Please answer by return of post.



VISIT TO PRAGUE. 275

able to you — don't spare me should you have to write to
me of anything disagreeable; I will bear it manfully . . .
. . Yesterday evening, at a party given by David, Mendels-
sohn's Octet was admirably played, and I tried my Septet"
The preceding card of invitation accompanied tiie letter.

Moscheles writes from Prague : —

** Prague, 21st October, 1840, 10 A. M.
" (One hour after arrival.)

"Hurrah ! I have seen all, — my mother better than I
expected." . . . . " And now a few words about Leipzig.
At the Fete in the Gewandhaus, given me by Mendelssohn,
there were about three hundred connoisseurs invited, who
surrounded the three Hiirtel pianos, the room was bril-
liantly lighted, there was a full orchestra and chorus, a
hundred and forty strong. It was so pretty to watch Men-
delssohn and his lovely wife, before the music began, doing
the honors for the various guests, and taking care that
every one had refreshments offered them. Here is the
programme : —

FIRST PART.

The two * Leonora Overtures,' gloriously performed.
Mendelssohn's ' 42d Psalm.' A noble vvonc. The Solos excellently

given by Madame Frege.

* Hommage a Handel,' Played with fraternal enthusiasm by Felix

and myself.

SECOND PART.

* Overture to the Hebrides.*
My * G minor Concerto.'

" The orchestra, conducted by Felix, played splendidly j
there was not a slip. 1 played ' con amore,' Ciiorley de-
clares, better than ever I did before. Applause deafening.
S. Bach's ' Triple Concerto' with Madame Schumann,
Felix, and me — ^judge how it went. To wind up I played
some ' Studies.'

" The day I started, kind Madame Mendelssohn wanted



276 P^E CEX T M USIC A ND M U SI CI A NS.

US to dir.e at 12 30 ; but what with leaving cards, and pre
paring for rny journey, I had often to get up from table, and
finally to leave my pudding unfinished ; a help of it how-
ever was handed me into the railway carriage ; Felix and
Chorley escorted me to the station. Truly the hospitality
of the Mendelssohns knows no bounds.

"At Dresden, I visited SchrOder-Devrient, who inquir-
ed kindly for you and the children."

" Prague, 24th October. Evening.

.... ''To my intense delight, my dear mother, who had
been kept in doors for several weeks past, walked out with
me ; she had to lean on my arm, but was sufficiently bright
in the evening to play the part of hostess to a family party,
which she had actually ventured on giving. Since that day
she has got much better, and one evening when the young-
sters wanted to dance, and I had to play Strauss' Waltzes,
who should attempt to dance but my juvenile mother? It
was a pleasure never to be forgotten. I could laugh and cry
over it."

On the 31st of October he writes : " I have just played
for the benefit of the Charitable Institutions of the town,
but decline all other concerts. I was recalled five times —
all other particulars when we meet.

"To-day I have many congratulatory visitors after my
success of yesterday ; among them Dionys Weber, who is
loud in my praise. He organized for my special sake an
orchestral performance by his pupils at the Conservatoire,
and took me to the library, where, in accordance with his
suggestion, the authorities have put up a marble bust of
Mozart, of whose works they have a collection."

The next letter is from Hof in Bavaria : " The dreaded
event of my departure from Prague had been so well and
skilfully managed that my mother did not break down as
hopelessly as I feared she would. By various innocent
devices, I kept her mind intent on anything but the ap-
proaching hour of separation. I made her help me to pack
my things, and diverted her thoughts all the while by all
manner of jokes ; she couldn't help laughing, and I could
scarcely suppress my tears. To blurt out * Auf Wiederse-



LETTER FROM MENDELSSOHN.



277



hen,' to kiss away the tears that would come, and to rush
down stairs — all this was the work of a moment ! . . . . My
people are tlie worst off, I have you to look forward to."

" Wlirzburg, 5th November.

" My fellow-travellers, a brewer, a commercial clerk and
an exciseman, were such dull people that Walter Scott could
not have drawn them out."

" Frankfort, Friday Morning, 4 A. M.

. ..." I wonder if the last political squib about Paris
has travelled as far as England. In Magdeburg, where
there is an illumination in honor of the King of Prussia,
some one showed a transparency, on one side of which was
an eagle in full flight, on the other a cock crowing, and
under it these words, * Honor the eagle, and don't mind the
chattering of the Httle Thiers ' (Thiers being the German
equivalent of ' animal ')."

Writing to Hamburg from London, where his family and
numerous pupils so impatiently awaited his arrival, Mos-
cheles says : '• 1 am so glad you are in the presence of that
rare art-phenomenon, Liszt ; he is a connecting link in the
chain of art-development, and his extraordinary powers are
sure to be appreciated among you. I have always stood

well with him You ask about myself Well I have a

great many irons in the fire. A series of German Lieder is
to be brought out by Kistner ; the ' Methode des Methodes,'
by myself and Fetis, must be published in a fortnight from
hence. I have therefore to correct, not only these proof-
sheets, but also those of the Beethoven Biography, which
are pressingly demanded by the publishers."

In the midst of all these occupations, Moscheles and
his wife are gladdened by the following letter from Men-
delssohn : —

"Dear Mrs. Moscheles, — I am now thinking of Mos-
cheles once more at home with you, ' comfortable at the
fireside ' (that can't be said in German), and I must now
write and tell you how much, how often, and with what



2/8 RE CEN T M USIC A ND M U SI CI A NS.

heartfelt gratitude, I recall the time just gone by. After we
parted from you at the London Post Office, we had some
delightful days, which M. and Chorley have described to
you at length in their letters ; but the quiet peaceful time
since Moscheles started in the railway, and Chorley in the
mail-coach, is no theme for description ; in fact happiness
cannot be defined, and certainly, I ought neither to have
nor to express any wish, seeing that I happen just now to
be hard at work, with my wife and children in good health
and spirits around me. We were all of us, however, very
grieved to receive a letter from Moscheles, in which he an-
nounces definitely that he is not coming. During his few
days with us, he had become just like a member of the family,
so that we all felt his departure. My wife, too, he seems to
like — at least, if it be true that such sympathies are usually
reciprocal, for that she liked him I knew the first day. When
will my old prophecy at last be realized, that you too are
to love my Cecile, and become confidential and feel at home
with her ? I'm afraid this can't be next spring, and it is
still a question whether Germany has made so favorable an
impression upon Moscheles that he would like to renew it.
Still I do hope that he has thoroughly felt, what we all had
very close at heart, what each one of us would gladly have
shown and expressed (were not demonstrativeness and out-
spokenness the weak side of us Germans), what he can find
nowhere stronger than among us here — I mean the most
intense respect and affection for him personally, and his art
as well, and the sincerest gratitude for the intellectual feasts
he has given us. These are daily the subjects of our con-
versation, even little Carl lets no day pass without asking :
* Papa, how does Uncle Moscheles play ? ' And then I try,
as well as I can, to imitate his fist playing in ' E flat major
6-8 time,' but it's a miserable failure. Now comes a song.*
.... I will now hand over the pen to my wife, merely add-
ing my best greetings for Emily, Serena, Felix, and Clara;
be sure and remind the dear children of me occasionally.
The letter is partly for Moscheles. I needn't say how
delighted I was with his success at Prague ; may he too

* This is the Shepherd's Winter Song; : " O Winter, schlimmer
Winter."



LETTER FROM MENDELSSOHN. 27Q

sometimes think of us as a friend, and not keep us too long
waiting for the news of his happy arrival home. Farewell,
dear Mrs. Moscheles.

" Always your devoted

" Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy."



CHAPTER XXIII.
1841,

The Philharmonic Society — Moscheles as Conductor — Generosity of
Liszt — The Kemble Family — Madame Viardot — German and Ital-
ian Artists — Mendelssohn's " Leider ohne Worte " — Mendelssohn
and Spohr — Rachel — Thorough Bass — Pianoforte Practice — Some
weeks in Boulogne — Musical Publications.

DURING this winter the peace of the musical world
was much disturbed by the proceedings of the Phil-
harmonic Society, where injudicious counsels, and a too
rigid conservatism on the part of the Directors, had resulted
in a poor subscription list and inadequate performances.
Most of the performances, notably that of the "Lobgesang,"
were found fault with. In deference to public opinion,
which called loudly for novelties, Berlioz's overture to the
" Francs Juges" was given, but most unfavorably received.
" Was the composition, or was the bad performance to be
held responsible for that chaos ? I can't settle that question
after one hearing."

Again we read : " Strangely enough, the ' Melusine ' was
coldly received, the music was not understood, and failed
to kindle any enthusiasm, perhaps for the want of a brilliant
finale. Suffice it to say that the jealous and thick-headed
are already glad to talk about failure, while we are up in
arms against them."

There was a loud call for the Ninth Symphony, and
Moscheles, who this year had not been re-elected as one
of the Directors, v/as now requested to conduct it.

He writes in his diary : " A truce to selfishness. If I
can make this gigantic work accessible to the public, it is
my duty to do so." How successfully he performed this
duty, we may gather from the following passages in the
Times of the 4th of May : '* Artists and amateurs now are
glad to own that Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is as much



MO SCHELES A S COND UC TOR. 2 8 1

remarkable for majesty and grandeur as for simplicity.
For this recognition we are in a great measure indebted to
Moscheles, who conducted the work with great care and
conscientiousness. As a conductor he surpasses almost all
our musicians, for whenever he swings his baton he leads
the orchestra, whereas others are led by it. Nothing
would so much tend to elevate the character of these con-
certs as the permanent appointment of Moscheles as a
conductor 3 he is one who inspires the orchestra with a re-
spect due to him, and would always lead it onwards to new
successes."

At the eighth concert the attention of the audience was
entirely centred upon Liszt. " When he came forward to
play in Hummel's Septet, one was prepared to be staggered,
but only heard" (we quote the diary) " the well-known
piece which he plays with the most perfect execution,
storming occasionally like a Titan, but still, in the main,
free from extravagance ; for the distinguishing mark of
Liszt's mind and genius is that he knows perfectly the
locality, the audience, and the style of music he brings be-
fore that audience, and uses his powers, which are equal to
everything, merely as a means of eliciting the most varied
kinds of effects."

After this season Liszt made a tour with Lavenu in the
provinces ; this scheme proving unsuccessful, the generous
pianist released the entrepreneur from his pecuniary obliga-
tion. Liszt and Moscheles were heard several times to-
gether in the " Preciosa " variations, on which Moscheles
remarks : " it seemed to me that we were sitting together on
Pegasus." When Moscheles showed him his F sharp and
D minor *' Studies," which he had written for Mechetti's
Beethoven album, Liszt, in spite of their intricacies and
difficulties, played them admirably at sight. He was a con-
stant visitor at Moscheles' house, often dropping in unex-
pectedly, and many an evening was spent under the double
fascination of his splendid playing and brilliant conversa-
tion. " The other day he told us : ' I have played a duet
with Cramer ; I was the poisoned mushroom, and I had at
my side my antidote of milk.'"

The Kemble family was a favorite topic with Moscheles.
" What an interesting and gifted family the Kembles !



282 RECENT M USIC A ND M U SI CI A NS.

Charles Kemble, for so many years one of the chief glories
of the English stage, has two daughters — the eldest, Mrs.
Butler (illustrious in her maiden days as Fanny Kemble),
and the youngest Adelaide, gifted with a glorious voice,
which she uses with equal success in Italian bravuras, Ger-
man Lieder, or old classical music. She is so thoroughly
versed in languages that when she sings you can fancy you
are listening to an Italian, French, or German ; she is
gifted with an extraordinary musical memory. Kemble
and Mrs. Butler read to the family circle scenes from Shake-
speare's plays ; no wonder such intellectual reunions attract
the most select and cultivated audiences. The other day
Kemble, after reading some scenes from ' As You Like It,'
ended by way of a joke with the words, ' Come, let us sing,
cousin ;' whereupon Madame Viardot and Miss Kemble
set the example, and we other musicians followed.

" Miss Kemble's version of the ' Erl-King' at her own
concert, accompanied by Liszt, was really thrilling. In the
following winter her ' Norma' and other characters won for
her the reputation of being the first singer and actress of
the day. A worthy scion of the Kembles ! "

The gifted Viardot is thus referred to : " Viardot is a
musician to the core ; she not only knows and understands
the classical masters, but overcomes all the technical diffi-
culties of modern ' fioriture.' One can justly apply to her
the French expression, ' File cree son role.' I seem to
realize and understand a character after seeing Viardot in
it — not before ; she is a linguist and composer as well ; in
a word she is one of the greatest phenomena of our time."
Persiani performs incredible difficulties, but, says Mos-
cheles : " Her high, thin voice is like a violin with very
thin strings ; I can't say I care much for her ' Beatrice di
Tenda.' Madame Dorus Gras, in the matter of organ and
flexibility of voice, is in reality a second Persiani; Meerti
an excellent and sympathetic concert-singer, and so simple
and amiable. (jur Germans, Frau Stockl-Heinefetter,
Staudigl, and Haizinger, were perfect in 'Jessonda' and
the 'Zauberfl.Jte.'"

" Staudigl often sings in our house," writes Mrs. Mos-
cheles ; " his sound German style is the healthiest antidote
I know of for the mawkish sentimentality of the Italians."



MENDEL SSOHN' S RE SEE C T FOR SP OHR. 2 8 ?



Although separated from one another, Mendelssohn
and Moscheles were constantly in coinrriunication. Mos-
cheles, referring to Mendelssohn in one his letters, ob-
serves : " It is refreshing to my mind and heart that I have
to revise the proofs of the fourth book of ' Lieder ohne
Worte ;' I play them and the ' Variations S^'rieuses' over
and over again — each time I enjoy their beauties afresh,"
When Moscheles in return sends his friends copies of his
new MS. Studies in F major and D minor, he remarks :
" Felix will play them at sight quite as well as Liszt."

Not only was there a constant interchange of composi-
tions, but also of home news. Mrs. Moscheles had allud-
ed in one of her letters to a newspaper article, in which
some busybody had indulged in ill-natured comparisons
between Mendelssohn and Spohr. To this Mendelssohn
replies : "The only thing that vexes me in your charming
letter is that you have taken any interest in the strange
comparisons and the 'cock-fights ' which have-been start-
ed in England between Spohr and me. These things are
unaccountable, and I heartily deplore them ; in truth, not
the slightest idea of such a competition or comparison has
ever entered my mind. You will smile, or be angry with
me for answering so seriously such a ridiculous matter ; but
something serious lies at the bottom of it all, and this com-
petition, suggested Heaven knows by whom, does good to
iieither of us, but injures both — let alone the fact that I
never can or should like to be pitted as an opponent to a
master of Spohr's standing. Even from boyhood I have
had far too deep a respect for his character and person
(this has not bated a jot with my riper judgment) to choose
to enter the lists with him now. Pardon, as I said, this
dreary tone in answer to so amiable a letter, but it all oc-
curs to me involuntarily, whenever I think of the cross-
grained T. and his behavior generally."

•' Moscheles writes : " A Mr. B., one of my most zeal-
ous pupils, came to me to-day wdth the request that Spohr,
Mendelssohn, and I would each write for him a psalm with
orchestral accompaniments, and he offers to pay 20/. for
each. Mendelssohn chose the 13th, I the 93d Psalm, and
Mr. B. wishes them to be published wdth the utmost care.

"We saw Rachel in ' Les Horaces.' How noble, how



284 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

grand is her declamation, appearance, and movement ; she
inspired me with awe, and in writing about her genius, I
feel the insignificance of my praise. What I most admired
in her was her power of rising gradually to a climax, an ele-
ment in any art production, and yet so seldom met with.
As she stands leaning against a pillar, motionless as a
statue, one has time to admire her classical profile, and the
no less classically arranged folds of her drapery ; during
the story of the battle she becomes a living being, her feat-
ures betraying every shade of emotion, and, when at last
she speaks, her tones peal forth like a solemn measured
hymn ; as she proceeds she seems to gather inspiration,
the measured ' Tempo' becomes a ' Vivace,' then a ' Pres-
to,' and then a ' Tempo rubato.' But throughout this scene
the voice retains its full power, articulation, and clearness ;
not a syllable is lost, and it is only when she stops that one
is sensible of having followed her breathlessly."

Moscheles writes from Boulogne : " Here we are. T
breathe freely, and can say with pride I am a free man.
There is a noise below in the harbor, tri-colors and flags
are waving in every direction to celebrate the anniversary
of Louis Napoleon's abortive attempts to land ; but all
honor to the first Napoleon, whose birthday, on the 15th of
August, is to be kept with great festivities."

How earnestly Moscheles interested himself in his
children's music we gather from the following letter: ....
" While writing this, I hear Emily playing my ' Nursery
Tale' and ' Reconciliation,' and am happy to say that she
gathers my intentions from the slightest hint, and can be
left to practice without fear of her adopting a fault. As to
my little Serena, she has learned her scale in C as a sur-
prise to me, and I, to try her as a timist, have accompanied
her in the bass in different rhythms ; as this does not put
her out I augur well of her taste for music. Thus I take
great delight in my children's education, my own, I fear,
being past praying for. They must play before company ;
one can't get them too, early over that dilettante shyness
which borders so closely on affectation ; one must teach
them not to think of their own petty selves, but of the great-
ness of the work of art they are to interpret." . . . . " You
ask me if your daughters ought to learn thorough bass ? I



IVO:^A'S WRITTEN AT BOULOGXE. 285

say yes. Of course no practical application can be made
of the study unless it be pursued for a number of years, yet
even when followed in a dilettante way, it helps to the bet-
ter understanding of good compositions and the rules of their
structure ; being the grammar of the art of sound, it is an
indispensable aid to the deeper comprehension of music.
The reading of a figured bass is necessary, as a step to the
reading of scores. Choose for your teacher a good theorist
or organist."

Writing to a friend in Vienna, he observes : " In reply
to your question about your children's technical studies, let
me advise you to bestow particular attention to the *vorking
of the fourth and fifth fingers, which are naturally the
weakest, and ought to acquire the firmness of the others.
The ' hand-guide' (Hand-leiter) I consider quite unnecessa-
ry. The pupil must from the first be made to hold the
arms and hands in a natural manner, neither raising the
elbows or wrists'too high, nor allowing them to drop too, low,
A careful teacher will attend to this, and of course the chil-
dren must work up to good models ; time and expression
should be cultivated also, a little later, however. Varia-
tions and fantasias upon operatic airs are less fitted for the
cultivation of individuality of style, because in such music
the ear depends too much on well-known forms; original
works by good masters are more useful. But if all that is
practiced with the 'hand-guide' (as Kalkbrenner recom-
mends, and still daily uses), all feeling must be dormant,
while the hand moves with admirable accuracy and stiffness.
What would have become of us older pianoforte-players,
and of Thalberg and Liszt, if they had used the hand-
guide !' Would art have stood higher ? "

During these weeks at Boulogne Moscheles wrote his
"Tarantella" (dedicated to his daughter Emily), the " Ser-
enade" (for the two works and arrangements Chappell
gave the sum of 80/.), besides these, the " Romanesca,"
two very difficult " Studies," a small Barcarole in D flat
major, " to remind me that I am at the sea-side." He alsc
arranged Beethoven's Septet as a pianoforte duet.



CHAPTER XXIV.

1842.

The Bunscn Family — Perfoi-mance before the King of Prussia — A
Trying Time — Correspondence wiih Maaame Moscheles — Ros-
sini's " Stabat Mater" — Conversation with Neukomm — Family
Trials — Rehearsal of Spohr's Symphony — Anton Rubinstein —
Dedication of a Work to Prince Albert — Presentation to the
Prince — Great Fire at Hamburg — Concert in Aid of the Sufferers
— JuUien's Concerts.

AT the beginning of this year Moscheles alludes to his
acquaintance with Bunsen, at that time the represent-
ative of Prussia in England, and the recognized centre of
all that was distinguished in politics, science, and art. At
the end of January Moscheles, at a party given by the Bun-
sens, plays before the King of Prussia on an Erard piano.
"I chose it by command of the King ; it is to be sent to
Berlin, and I was glad the King approved of it. Neukomm
played on the ' orgue expressif." Alexander von Hum-
boldt, and other famous compatriots in attendance on his
Majesty, took a very friendly interest in my performances.''
February was a month of severe trial for Moscheles and
his family, for the scarlet- fever broke out in the house.
Remembering Dickens's words : " They sat together and
talked of their illness," we shrink from inflicting a dreary
story on our readers. Suffice it to say that Moscheles was
obliged to leave the house, to avoid spreading infection
among his numerous pupils. Between his lodgings and the
sick-room innumerable letters passed, and from these we
extract a few passages. " I trust to Providence and your
strength of mind ; if your strength to bear our separation
increases, I will fancy myself on a journey, returning home,
the road a rugged one, the diligence dragging lazily along,
and occasionally stuck fast in the mud, the arrival home de-
layed, until finally the conductor calls out, ' You are now
at the last stage,' and the custom-house officer, ' You can



HOSSIXrS " STAB A T MA TER:



287



pass.' " . . . . Sometimes he forgets his office as consoler,
and strikes another key : "A cell in Newgate couldn't be
so repulsive to me as a lodging separated from 3^ou." A
more favorable bulletin suggests the remark: "This was
sent to me at the ' Singverein,' and in the joy of ray heart I
immediately ordered a 'Gloria' to be sung. Tell Felix I
shall empty a whole cask of wine to his health. Since we
parted, Rossini's ' Stabat Mater,' which we were so anxious
to hear, has become known to me, and Benedict and I are
now studying it with our class. It is, as you may imagine,
a model of ' singableness' (if I may say so), but it is not
sufficiently church-music to my taste ; his solitary fugue is
clumsy. The criticisms on the work are very various, some
agree with me, but the majority delight in the captivating
Italian phrases, which I admire too, but which I cannot
think are in the right place. Now, I hope the time is
not so far distant when you will again take part in the class,
and become acquainted with this work. . . . Pray, let
us settle as to the exact time when I can see you at the
window ; certainly it is a plague of Tantalus, but whenever
I look out for you, and you are not there, I feel as if I had
missed a correct Tempo."

He often tries to amuse his wife by telling stories of his
friends and acquaintance. " I heard B. M. play a piece of
his own composition, but it was a paraphrase of Thalberg
and DJhler, consequently dilution twice diluted." ....
" How my ears suffered at a soiree, where Rode's Varia-
tions and Weber's ' Concertst".ck' were played in amateur-
ish fashion. At last I determined on scaring away all these
unpleasant sounds by playing myself" Speaking of a very
small and overluxurious house, he says : " It seems to me
like a child who has put on his grandfather's court dress.
. ... At a dinner the lady of the house gives her orders,
the husband his, the sons issue fresh ones, and two poor
inexperienced maid-servants run about like sheep which find
themselves separated from their flock, and are driven to-
gether by dogs." . ..." I had a curious conversation
with Neukomm, and played him my Psalm (93) ; he said
repeatedly, ' Fine ! Good, good ! ' and declared that the
second number, a chorus full of melody, was his favorite.
I asked for criticism, and he showed me some harmonic



288 RECEXT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

progressicns, which he declared were too bold. I thought
how useful they would be to his classically correct but of-
ten monotonous compositions, but merely said : ' The un-
approachable Beethoven has ventured still further.' He
added : " There you follow a bad example.' To this asser-
tion I would only give modest evasive answers, and young
Bunsen came in most opportunely to interrupt us." ....
" Last Saturday we sang some of Neukomm's music, a vocal
piece in sixteen parts, for which Bunsen had written a com-
mentary. Neukomm has in this music harmonized and ar-
ranged Chorales, a 'Miserere,' by Palestrina, and the Lit-
urgy of Passion Week (with pianoforte and organ accompa-
niment). 1 sang my bass part only a trifle weaker than
Lablache."

His gratitude for the preservation of his son and the re-
covery of his wife, his deep sorrow on receiving the news
of his mother's death, and his resignation to the Divine
will — all these feelings find expression in the following lines :
''This blow has almost stunned me. Never was a son
loved more affectionately. Never has a son more heartily
responded to such love than I did. This gap must remain
unfilled. But God has wonderfully preserved to me wife
and children. To Him be thanks ! "

During this saddest of winters, Moscheles had, by ex-
press wish of the composer, to study and rehearse Spohr's
Symphony for double orchestra, which was to be performed
at the Philharmonic Concert.

" The work," says Moscheles, " has all the great qualities
which one knows and loves in Spohr : beautiful treatment
of the subjects, admirable modulation and instrumentation,
but there is a want of novelty in the leading ideas, and I
should like more episodes and contrasts ; so much unity
leads to monotony. It may satisfy the harmonist, but there
is too much sameness throughout. The orchestra played
zealously and ' con amore,' but the work was only moderate-
ly applauded."

This season was memorable for the deluge of foreign art-
ists. Among them was the youthful Anton Rubinstein.
" This Russian boy," says Moscheles, " has fingers light as
feathers, and with them the strength of a man." Native
artists, too, were on the alert. Blagrove gave quartet even-



MOSCHELES AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE.



289



ings, Bennett published his Sestet in F sharp minor; and
the Royal Academy of INIusic performed Spohr's " Last
Judgment." About this time Bunsen secured for Moscheles
the permission to dedicate his great " Pianoforte School "
to Prince Albert, and on the day fixed by the Prince for re
ceiving the presentation copy, Moscheles finds himself in
Buckingham Palace, where he writes to his wife as fol-
lows : —

'• Ante-chamber, Buckingham Palace. — It is now a quar-
ter-past one, and I have been sitting all alone here since
twelve o'clock, giving audience to my thoughts without keep-
ing them waiting as long as the Prince does me, or 1 do my
pupils. On one side I am warmed by the sunbeams as
they pour through the large window, and on the other by
a large fire — isn't that bliss? But freedom! golden free-
dom ! would you were mine once more, and that I was sit-
ting at home instead of looking at these bleak walls ! Luck-
ily I found writing materials, and can thus prove to you in
black and white, that on all occasions I think of you . . .
Two o'clock. — At last Dr. Schenck appeared in my prison,
and told me, with an air of great embarrassment, that ow-
ing to the forgetfulness of one of the pages, the Prince, who
happened to be busy when I arrived, had not been reminded
that 1 was in waiting. He said the Prince would certainly

reprove the page for his neglect Five o'clock. — I am

back again to what I, poor exile, call my home, and must
give you the sequel of my Court adventures. The Prince
walked in after Dr. Schenck, made his excuse, and said he
was vexed I had lost so much of my time. He was so ami-
able that my impatience vanished. I handed to him the
'Pianoforte School,' and he turned over sev^eral of the pages,
saying he thought he would have to work at the easiest of
the ' Studies ; ' to this I naturally answered, that he had only
to command me, whenever he might want to hear me play
him the difficult ones. He answered me kindly, but a page
entering the room with ' Her Majesty the Queen is ready,'
the Prince took a hasty farewell of me and Dr. Schenck ; I
too hurried off to my lessons."

In May Moscheles received the news of the great fire at
Hamburg. When all anxiety about the safety of his rela-
tions was over, and it became evident that the misery of the



290



RECENT MUSIC AA'D MUSICIANS.



tljoiisands left without a roof to shelter them required imme-
diate assistance, he conceived the plan of giving a grand
concert for the benefit of the sufferers. The selection of a
day and place, and the means of reducing the expenses of
preparation, were matters for anxious deliberation. The
b.ill f^r the Spitalfield Weavers, the number of impending
concerts, the Director of the Italian Opera, with his enor-
mous demands, were serious obstacles, but Lablache most
kindly came to the rescue, promising his own assistance,
and that of all his compatriots. German and English artists
also joined, but the Hamburg Committee tried to hamper
Moscheles with doubts as to the success of the scheme, and
hinted at the advisability of another well-known pianist
sharing the enterprise ; this he steadily refused. The ad-
mission tickets had a rapid sale, and at the eleventh hour
Mendelssohn appeared in England and eagerly joined.
When all the tickets were disposed of, the orchestra was
converted into stalls; the boxes let at high prices; some
of the Royal Family attended, and for the accommodation
of crowds unable to get admission, tables and chairs were
ranged like seats in an amphitheatre, at the entrance door,
Moscheles wrote for the occasion a Study in F major, 2-4
time, always after this called the ' Hamburg Study.'
We give the sum total of receipts and expenditure :

£> s. d.

Lumley, duector of the theatre 50 o O

Refreshments for the Artists 2 10 9

Extra seats 236

Police 186

Porters and Billposters 470

Paper-hangers — Joiners 880

Advertisements 23 o O

£^^ 17 9

Gross Receipts .... ;^735 2 3

Surplus ;^643 4 6

" Of this sum I asked the Senate," says Moscheles, " to
allow me 1000 marks for distribution among families select-
ed by myself The Town afterwards presented me with a
m^dal marie of the molten bronze of the Church bells; it
bjre the inscription ' Hamburg thanks.' "



MEA'DELSSOHN'S CECILE.



291



Mendelssohn's hopes that his Cecile would not belie the
anticip.Uions raised by his letters were abundantly realized.
Mrs. Moscheles writes : " At last my ardent wish is fulfilled ;
I have learnt to know the charming and beautiful C'cile.
Mendelssohn was quite right in anticipating that we should
learn to understand and love each other, I for my part had
not to learn this, for to see her was to feel at once attracted
towards her. We spent some delightful days with them at
her aunt's ; in fine weather we had running matches in the
garden, when Mendelssohn's feet proved to be as active as
on the organ pedal. We performed charades too, Felix
acting as stage-manager, and Moscheles doing the orchestra.
But when the time came for serious music, then were the
two M 's in their real element ; then did they give us their
very best, winding up as usual with a grand improvisation .\
quatre mains. Then followed such remarks as these :
' How insane of you to bring in my madcap Scherzo while I
was just fairly launched in your A flat major Study, which I
wanted to do ever so sentimentally ; ' or, ' Isn't it a wondei
it went at all .? Upon my word, we have been too reckless
to day ! ' "

" One must congratulate the excitable and effervescent
Mendelssohn that he has met with a wife so gentle, so ex-
quisitely feminine ; they are perfectly matched." Moscheles
says ; " He played me his Choruses from ' Antigone,' sing-
ing or humming the voice parts ; even with this hearing I
see plainly that the work is grand and noble. The Bacchus
Chorus is in the true genuine spirit. His new A minor
Symphony is a gem ; the subscribers to the Philharmonic
are quite ready to acknowledge it as such, how much more
then we artists ! "

The Handel Society, of which Moscheles was a member,
was founded for the purpose of publishing an improved
edition of HandeFs works, and the scheme necessarily in-
volved a number of meetings and consultations. " The
children were differently occupied," Mrs. Moscheles writes ;
" we have a novelty more interesting to them than Christ-
mas trees — I mean JuUien's new Promenade Concerts.
Drury Lane Theatre is converted into a large room, in
which the ' one shilling ' public freely circulates, regardless
of the music ; the boxes are filled by the ' haute volee.*



2g:



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



Jullien directs a good orchestra, sometimes with a baton,
sometimes playino: a ' flauto piccolo,' which with its shrill
tones marks the rhythm After each piece he throws him-
self back as if he were exhausted, on a red velvet arm chair ;
his dress-coat discovers half a mile of white waistcoat ; his
dance tunes, strongly spiced with drum, bassoon, and trum-
pet, are attractive to all, but specially to the schoolboy, who
would not think it Christmas if he did not go to JuUien's
concerts."

Moscheles, while enjoying with his children this kind of
entertainment, was contemplating for them a musical pas-
time of a very different description. " Since I accompanied
my little girl in the C major scale, I have had an idea run-
ning in my head of making a ' harmonized work on scales.'
This is to make the dry mechanical practice of the different
scales pleasant to the pupil, and form her taste by hearing
a melody ; it will also make her a good timist. Such a
work might possibly become useful to the world of piano-
forte-players ; the sooner the purely mechanical part of
study is put into the background, the higher will be the cul-
tivation of the artistic element." The idea of writing this
new work was soon realized.

We quote from the diary : — " I advise the pupil to prac-
tice the scales with both hands, and that too ' con amore ; '
the master, who has the responsibility of listening to his
pupil while he practices his scales, should not weary over his
work, as too often happens ; both should be agreeably em-
ployed, the master in reading his own part and paying at-
tention to that of his pupil, the latter in hearing a rhythmi-
cal piece, a melody, and accustoming himself to count, in-
stead of hiving to run up and down the bare scales. " You
wouldn't believe," says Moscheles, " with what enthusiasm
the children rush at every newly finished piece of the work
on scales ; Emily naturally acts as Professor ; they must
play it all even before the ink is dry, and 'La Danse des
Fees ' is their favorite."



CHAPTER XXV.
1843.

Operatic Arrangements — John Parry — Mrs. Shaw and Clara Novello
at Exeter Hall — Halle the Pianist — Inauguration of the Leipzig
Conservatoire — Alexander Dreyschock — Sivori and Einst — Spohr
in London — Concert by HuUah's Pupils — Anecdote of Fontenelle
— Music and Drawing — Heinrich Lehmann — Playing to the
Blind in Paris — visit to Halevy in Prison.

MOSCHELES has, early in the year, to make two
books of operatic arrangements — this time on " Don
Pasquald" — for Cramer; he next revises three numbers of
" Fidalio," published after Beethoven's death. " We had,"
Mrs. Moscheles writes, " a long musical evening in Exeter
Hall —too much for the German taste ; I give you the pro-
gramme in extenso: — Anthem, by Dr. Crotch, Beethoven's
Mass in C, and the ' Lobgesang.' How did we possibly
manage after this to go to Mrs. Sartoris? how could Mos-
cheles play, and successfully too.'* how could we laugh
even at Joiin Parry's performances ? Without him no party
is thought complete ; I have already told you how he sings
a trio all by himself; every one laughs, as soon as he sits
down to the piano, over which he has perfect mastery ; in
his * parlando' songs, which are for the most part in verse,
he generally satirizes some folly of the day. He may truly
be called the musical Moli^re of our time." Again: "We
have had a performance of Beethoven's oratorio ' The

Mount of Olives,' at Exeter Hall There was a

strange scene the other evening, when the ' Messiah' was
given. Those excellent artists, Clara Novello and Mrs.
Shaw, stirred the audience to great enthusiasm ; it literally
rained encores. Mrs. Shaw seemed willing to comply with
the wishes of the audience. Miss Novello the reverse ; she
withstood all the shouts, clapping of hands, and other
noisy demonstrations, and Phillips' song, 'Why do the



2 94 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

heathen rage?' seemed well suited to the occasion, and
was only half listened to by an audience shouting ' Miss
Novello ! ' ' encore ! ' It was no good, she declined to
repeat her song, and left the orchestra. At last the music
was allowed to proceed without interruption, and when it
came to the heavenly air ' I know that m) Redeemer liveth,'
Miss Novello stepped forward again, this time accom-
panied by a member of the committee, who was about to
speak, but some one shouted out 'bad temper,' and the
VVitch's Sabbath began afresh, so that the poor lady sang
the greater part of her sublime song amid the alternate
hisses, applause, and screams of the audience. At last,
however, her fine singing prevailed, and the turmoil was at
an end."

At this time Moscheles, in a letter to his father-in law,
says, in reference to Berlioz's great symphony, which had
just been heard in Hamburg, " I only know this work
from the pianoforte copy, and am therefore not competent
to form a judgment upon ic, but I shall be with difficulty
won over to it, because I feel very strongly Berlioz's want
of melody, rhythm, phrasing, and contrapuntal proportions.
I hive heard his overtures 'Francs Juges' and 'Benvenuto
Celhni' performed with full orchestra, but his effective
instrumentation could not compensate, in my judgment,
for the loss of the qualities I have referred to, especial-
ly in passages where he attempts to be melodious and
poetical, but lapses into prose. Generally speaking, I am
too giad to pro/e to the world and my iriends that I am
not ultra-conservative, and know how to value the modern
composers. Just now I play Chopin a great deal, nay, I
try to master his musii^, alchough it is not quite my 'genre.' "

Moscheles writes: " Hall.', the pianist, has lately ar-
rived from Paris. He is very fond of playing Chopin's
music^ and brings with him, no doubt, the correct tradition
of the Notturnos and Mazurkas. He is applauded also for
his playing of other compositions." ....

"Just at present the Tableaux mania is our specialty,
and we are assisted by such distinguished people as Land-
seer, Horsley, and Westmacott. Mrs. Sartoris as the 'Sib-
ylle' was quite classical. Her musical parties are very
choice." .... "I expected great things from the Han-



ERNST— DRE YSCHOCK.



295



del Society, but we lose much precious time in discussion,
and the preliminary conferences are not as pleasantly
conducted as I should like. At last, however, matters
look more business-like, for we have agreed that three
Coronation Anthems are to be published as the first num-
ber of the new edition, and that later on I am to undertake
the 'Allegro' and 'Penseroso.' ... I am once more to
conduct the Ninth Symphony for the Philharmonic Society."

Moscheles thus records an event of great importance in
the annals of modern music : " The Leipzig Conservatoire
was inaugurated on the loth of April when pupils were
admitted for the first time. With Mendelssohn at the
head, one may expect great things of the young Institution ;
Felix is always trying to persuade me to join him and
become one of the staff of teachers. It would be a noble
vocation to work in conjunction with him, to shake off the
yokes of lesson-giving and dilettantism in order to educate
young artists."

Alexander Dreyschock, lately arrived in London, is
thus alluded to: ''He is still young in the art, but his
powers as an executant are marvellous; he has an exquis-
itely delicate touch, and performs astonishing ' tours de
force' with his left hand ; but alas ! his playing is restricted
to twelve pieces, which he has toiled at incessantly. He
has no style, and cannot read music, as our little girl dis-
covered. You shall hear the story: he was trying over
with me some ' Scale pieces,' and played the ' Pupil s part,'
but was so often at fault with the time, that Clara ran up
to her mamma, calling out (luckily in Enolish, which Drey-
schock probably did not understand;, ' Mamma, hasn't Mr.
D, learned the scales .'* ' You may imagine my horror at
the 'enfant terrible.'"

Sivori gave four crowded concerts, earning golden lau-
rels, especially in his " Carnaval de Venise." Ernst also
appeared, charming every one with his grand tune and
fine German reading of the great masters. At a concert
given for the benefit of the newly opened German hospital,
Ernst first displayed his great and versatile powers before
an English audience, selecting such music as Spohr's
" Gesang Scene," the " Carnaval de Venise," and varia-
tions from " Otello."



296



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



The arrival of Spohr, the king of violinists, created a
considerable sensation in London, where his great artistic
gifts met with a very wide spread recognition. The musi-
cal societies in London vied with each other in welcoming
the great musician. His " Macbeth," his " Weihe der
Tone," and the oratorio "The Fall of Babylon," were per-
formed under his own direction. "We artists, making up a
party of ninety, gave him a grand dinner at Greenwich ; I
was placed next to him to interpret the proceedings and
numerous speeches ; I also accompanied him in three of
his manuscript duets. In my improvisation at a later pe-
riod of the evening I endeavored to be completely ' Spohr-
ish,' and worked up themes out of his Symphony, ' The
Consecration of Sound.' " A grand party in his honor
was given by the Moscheles, and another by Mr. Alsager.
The music was Spohr throughout, and Moscheles played
his Quintet. He says : " You know our friend is not de-
monstrative, but after the first movement he came to the
piano to shake hands with me. Hallj turned over the
leaves, while all the native and foreign pianists in London
formed the audience. Spohr's ' Nonet' was a great treat !
so finely played too by the author, now a man of fifty-nine
years of age ! "

HuUah's pupils gave a grand performance at Exeter
Hall, when Moscheles' four-part song " Daybreak " was
well given by the admirably-trained choir, and encored.

Moscheles says : " They tell me that some newspaper
has sharply criticized my song ; I can't help being reminded
of an anecdote of Fontenelle, who all his life long was the
King of humor, and worshipped by the million as an elegant
and refined writer. There was a little room in his house,
that was always kept locked, no one ever entered it but
himself. When it was opened after his death, it was found
crammed full to the ceiling with all kinds of newspapers
and periodicals, containing attacks upon him, and this la-
conic comment upon them: 'I have never read aline of
these. I have never answered them.' I too am ready to
endorse Fontenelle's views."

In August Moscheles writes from Boulogne : " Our
good ship Harlequin, when crossing the Channel, certainly
bounded like his namesake, but that's all forgotten now.



H. AND R, LEHMANN—HALEVY. 207

We have been very kindly received here In watching

my children at their studies, I discover that they are as
fond of drawing as of music. In my young days I was
just like them, only my profession tied me exclusively to
music, by which I was to earn my bread, so that pencils
and paint-boxes were soon laid aside."

The family leave Boulogne for Paris, and we read :
" Our cousin Heinrich Lehmann has become a famous
painter. His frescoes in the church of St. Mary, his orna-
mentation of the Chapelle des Aveugles, are very fine."
This artist has executed many important works in churches
and public buildings ; the most deservedly celebrated of
these were destroyed at the burning of the Hotel de Ville,
during the days of the Commune. His brother Rudolf liv-
ed many years in Rome, where he produced his well-
known pictures of Italian life. " When we went to see the
frescoes,'' says Moscheles, "I was asked to play something
for the poor blind people in the hospital. They stood
round me, and their enthusiasm deeply affected me ; not
only did they thank me, but kissed my hands with an earn-
estness that brought tears into my eyes. We have passed
manv happy hours in Paris with Meyerbeer, Ernst, HaiB
etc."'

On the T^^ of October we read : " I was extremely
amused with my visit to Halevy, who, having been guilty
of some breach of duty as a ' garde national,' was locked up
for eight and forty hours. Many famous painters before
him must have endured the same fate in the same place,
for artistic sketches and eccentric caricatures were drawn
and painted on the walls. We chatted as easily in ' Aux
Haricots' (the nickname of the prison) as we should have
done in his own house ; all the more as his young wife was
present." Balzac's drama, ' Pamela Rigault,' and a repre-
sentation by Madame Geoiges, who was famous even in the
days of the Empire, are marked as specially interesting,
but on returning home to London, Moscheles' first exclam-
ation is, " What a delight my Erard and my Collard give
me ! They are not even out of tune ; my new ' Study ' in
C sharp minor, 6-8 time, sounded well."

This winter Mr. Hullah gave at his own house an ex-
cellent performance of Mendelssohn's " Athalie," which

13*



>gS



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



Moscheles accompanied on the piano ; Balfe produced his
opera the " Bohemian Girl." " Julhen still thrives ; he has
actually taken to Beethoven's Symphonies, and by way
of contrast we are favored with Roch Albert's Tone-picture
the ' Destruction of Pompeii,' with storms, crashes, prayers,
Bacchante dances, oracles, utter darkness, and then a blaze
of fireworks ; great and small effects, for great and small
children ! . . . . Jullien is witty too, or he pretends to have
discovered an echo on some Irish lake which repeats the
final notes the wrong way round, as for instance :



%^^^ —■ ^^k



Other similar effects are produced, one and all equally be-
wildering to a musician."

Moscheles ends the year with the following commentary
on a reporter who from an opponent had become an admi-
rer, "I am always the fortunate Prince, my detractors can-
not do me any harm, so they are obliged at last to become
my friends."



CHAPTER XXVI.
1844.

New Year in Austria and England — Joachim — Teaching the Theory
of Music — Mendelssohn in London — Golden Hours — Moscheles
Visited by Nesselrode — Visit to Germany— Concert at Frankfort
— C/hairs for the Concert — Auerbach — Kaulbach — The Artist's
Studio — King Louis — Musical Life and Doings in Vienna — Ernst
Pauer — An Imposing Scene in Vienna — Court Concert — Leipzig.

THE following is the entry for the ist of January : " I
was struck with the contrast between the modes of
celebratino^ this day in Austria and England. There it is a
regular holiday, here a day of business. To do at Rome as
the Romans do, I worked at the Pianoforte edition of the
' Allegro and Penseroso' for the Handel Society. A prop-
osition was made to Mendelssohn to undertake the editing
of the ' Messiah/ but he felt scruples on account of Mo-
zart's additional accompaniments, and therefore the ' Israel
in Egypt' was offered to him instead.''

The arrival of one who since those days has become
world-renowned, is thus briefly recorded: "Joachim, a boy
of thirteen years of age, has come to London, bringing with
him a letter of recommendation from Mendelssohn ; his tal-
ent, however, is his best introduction. We organized a
small party expressly for him ; I listened with delight to
him and Emily playing in Mendelssohn's lovely ' D minor
trio ; ' after that I was fairly taken by surprise by Joachim's
manly and brilliant rendering of David's ' Variations' and
De Bjriot's ' Rondo.' Mendelssohn is right, here we have
talent of the true stamp."

. ..." At Drury Lane Theatre, I heard Benedict's op-
era ' The Brides of Venice ; ' there are fine orchestral effects
and the vocal parts are well treated, and worthy of special
commendation. The music was well received, and the
composer called for. . . . Incredible, and yet true. At



,QQ A'£C£.Vr Mi'SIC JXD M US/CIA XS.

Caradori's morning concert I accompanied some twent}'-two
vocal pieces, in which the concert-giver and a host of vocal-
ists took pan; the legion of instrumentalists was headed by
Joachim, who played Ernst's 'Otello" Fantasia in the most
masterlv way. Of the newest pianist importation. Leopold
von Mever, I can only say he thundered forth a Fantasia
of his own upon ' Lucrezia Borgia,' with immense force and
execution : but where was the soul ? "'

Mrs. Moscheles writes : " Fancy what we went through
the evening after Caradori's concert : first of all Sivori "s
concert, then the quarter party given by Macfarren and
Davison, ihe chief feature of which was Ernst leading Beet-
hoven's posthumous quartet in C sharp minor, and lastly,
Mrs. Sartoris's musical soiree, which we were unable to en-
joy — we had had too much of a good thing.''

The one incomparable delight of this season was the
presence of Mendelssohn, who conducted five of the Philhar-
monic Concerts, and a full rehearsal of the Schubert and
Gade Symphonies, which were heard for the first time in
England. ** When Mendelssohn appeared in the orchestra,"
Moscheles writes, '" he was received, as he deserves, with
raptures and enthusiasm. With him for a permanent con-
ductor the Philharmonic Concerts must improve. The me-
diocre performances were often a source of annoyance and
regret to me, and the one remed}-, the appointment of a
permanent conductor, was unwisely from time to time post-
poned ; now I feel quite relieved. Once more, to my great
delight, 1 heard Mendelssohn's ' A minor Symphony,' with
ts fine piquant and original instrumentation. His ' Mid-
summer Night's Dream* music, given at the fifth, was re-
peated at the sixth concert, when the Coiut was present ;
last of all we had the ' Walpurgis Xight,' all the more de-
lightful to me as I had studied its beauties in the pianoforte
score. The ' Suite of Bach' is a most interesting novelty —
this too, we owe to my dear friend. He played himself
Beethoven's ' G major Concerto,' impro\'ising splendid ca-
denzas, and introduced his young friend Joachim in the
same great master's Violin Concerto — both performances
were triumphant. Of course Felix was the bright star of
my birthday party on the 30th of May. He brought a
most welcome contribution to mv album. It was a sequel



.}f£XBELSSOB-y IX LOXDOX.



301



to the illustrated cataloorue of my works, the first pa^e of
which he had filled in 1832 : the present continuation is as
witty and clever as its pre--'ecessors. At the bottom of the
page he had written the words, ' God willing, to be con-
tinued.' It >Tas decreed otherwise."

After a perlbrniance of the oratorio " St Paul," we find
an allusion to a ccnversation on the subject of the publi-
cation of Mendelssohn's works, and ^[oscheles endeavored
to impress Felix with the necessity of deelinLT fairly by him-
self, instead of undervaluing writings the sterling worth of
which was everywhere acknowledged. Mrs. Moscheles
writes : *' Mendelssohn is the amiable friend we have ever
known him. He gave out that after conducting the last
Philharmonic Concert, on the 8th of July, he should leave
England, but he arranged with us to meet our common
friends at our house, and at Klingemann's, on the 9th.
You may imagine how delighted * nos intimes" were, and
what glorious instrumenlal music we had ; Mrs. Sartoris,
too, was in splendid voice. Our guests were so grateful
and happy, not happier than the hostess herself for those
were golden hours indeed ! "^

In the record of this year we find the names, more or
less famous, of politicians, authors, and artists, who be-
came acquainted with or brought letters of introduction to
Moscheles. One nsitor was the son of the illustrious C.
M. von Weber : he came to London charged with the sad
duty of superintending the removal of his father's remains
from Moorfields* Chapel to their final resting-place in
Dresden. We read, too, of the painters Magnus and Jacob,
of Berlin, Mrs. Jameson, the accomplished authoress, and
the distinguished Xesselrode, who expressed a wish to bear
Moscheles, and honored him with a visit. He was attended
bv Baron Brunow, the Russian Ambassador. Mrs. Mos-
cheles writes : '• The great man was very amiable, and
called on Moscheles to play several of his own composi-
tions ; Enily also was made to play, and Xesselrode not
only paid elaborate compliments to father and daughter,
but expressed an earnest hope that he would meet us in
Russia."' The invitation was endorsed by Michael Viel-
hoursky. called by Moscheles " one of the first amateurs in
St. Petersburg." The project of going to Fussia, which



302 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

had almost been determined on, was abandoned in conse-
quence of the death of the Grand-Duchess Alexandra.
Mrs. Moscheles writes : '' I really think a man like Nessel-
rode can t sneeze, without the fact being noticed in the
newspapers ; his visit to Chester Place is not only recorded
but prettily embellished by a highly imaginative reporter,
in the Morning Post. I suppose a blank had to be tilled
up with some gossip."

The journey to St. Petersburg being abandoned, Mos-
cheles realized the project of taking his wife and daughter
with him on a visit to " dear old Vienna.'' Halting awhile
at several German towns for the sake of " Auld Lang
Syne," and exploring the beauties of " Father Rhine," they
reach Frankfort, and, to their great delight, find that the
Mendelssohns are at Soden, " only half an hour from us."
" There is a regular congress of pianists here, and in spite
of that people insist on my giving a concert." Mendels-
sohn insisting too, a concert was arranged for the 25th of
September, and the two friends played the " Hommage a,
Handel "" to a crowded audience.

An amusing incident is described in a letter from Mos-
cheles' daughter : — " The room, long before the concert
began, was crammed full, but still people came; there was
a small empty room adjoining. ' What will the Frankfort-
ers say when they find no seats?" said Mendelssohn to
Rosen hain. 'Let us be off" together and hire chairs, with-
out bothering Moscheles just before the concert." Our
good friend Rosenhain jumped at the proposal, but it was no
such easy matter to get chairs, for it was the time of the fair,
and there were none to spare in the crowded hotels. At
last they found four dozen in a small pothouse. 'These
must be sent immediately,' says Mendelssohn. 'But who
is to pay ? ' inquires the landlord. ' A great artist — Mos-
cheles — who is giving a concert, and the room is so full that
more chairs are wanted ; your money's safe.' 'Those
artist gentlemen,' says the canny landlord, 'often give con-
certs, pocket the money and bolt — I must have something
down.' Our tw^o friends empty their pockets, which hap-
pened to be poorly filled. The landlord, however, is satis-
lied ; they then mount a ' Droschke' Mendelssohn shoves
two of the chairs inside, and two more in front of the



ELSLER—KA ULBACH.



303



driver, and then calls out, ' Now off with you as fast as you
can drive to the M "chlens'schen Saal.' When they get
there the other chairs are sent after them, and all the
audience are seated, although Madame Mendelssohn, mam-
ma and I had to make shift with two between us. What
pleased Mendelssohn far more than the history of the
chairs, was my father's addition of the deep bass C in his
A flat ' Study.' ' You surprised me with that, he said ' it has
a splendid effect, which ought not to be forgotten; I will write
it in Mrs. Moscheles' album at once.' He did so, drawing at
the same time a picture of the Droschke. Rosenhain, and
himself, and the chairs and all, but only half a horse. ' I
can't draw that by heart he said."

" Darmstadt, Heidelberg, Carlsruhe, are all visited in
turn, and at the latter place the Grand-Duchess (a Wasa),
a truly amiable and gifted princess, delighted in play-
ing pianoforte duets with me and Emily. Here, too,
we made Berthold Auerbach's acquaintance, and were
struck with the originality of the extracts he read to us
from his works." At Stuttgart the public insist upon a
second concert. '* At Augsburg," Moscheles writes, " I
went to the theatre to engage some vocalists. They were
just rehearsing 'La Clemenza di Tito;' to me too, the
'Tito' was *clemente.' Vitellia smiled condescendingly,
Sesto, in her costume (more becoming at a distance),
claimed acquaintance as an old Viennese friend, while the
chorus director embraced me, and Hummel's son offered
me his services as accompanist.' "

From Munich Mrs. Moscheles writes : '' Here the feet
of Fanny Elsler are in opposition to Moscheles' hands. ]t
is impossible to secure band or public, as she is forever
dancing. When Moscheles talks of leaving without giving
a concert, his friends, with Kapellmeister Lachner at their
head, are up in arms, so he has made up his mind to stay
till the 9th of November."

During the interim we have frequent notices of visits to
Kaulbach's studio. " He comes repeatedly in the dusk of
evening to my hotel when I am practicing, and sits by my
side a rapt listener." Mrs. Moscheles describes a comical
adventure that took place in Kaulbach's studio: "The ar-
tist's atelier consists of several rooms. In cne, the largest,



304 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

he is just now painting his great picture of ' The Destruc-
tion of Jerusalem.' It is nearly finished, and we so delight
in watching the great artist putting the final touches to this
masterpiece. In an adjoining room stands the piano ; there
Moscheles was playing away to his heart's content, when
suddenly King Louis, who is quite at home in any artist's
studio, and more especially in Kaulbach's, walks in. With
ready wit, he says, ' Ah ! came to see one artist and find
two ! — and the ladies ! ' The ladies were duly introduced
to him, and had to stand the fire of his abrupt but friendly
conversation.

" Moscheles has to play and be complimented, and when
H. M. has left, Kaulbach tells us how the King was much
displeased at his working for ' the Prussian,' and had
severely taken him to task for it. (The picture is one of the
series executed in Berlin.)" Asher, a pupil of Kaulbach's,
makes a hasty sketch of this scene for Emily's album.
Count Pocci presents us with some of his inimitably beauti-
ful pen-and-ink sketches ; and Kaulbach gives Mrs. Mos-
cheles one of his original and masterly drawings for Schil-
ler's '■ Robbers." This is so elaborately finished that it
requires a practiced eye to tell it from an engraving.

The Munich Concert is described as a most brilliant
one. The Court attended ; the King between the parts
made (as usual) the round of the room. The young ladies
are not a little in asve of His Majesty, for he will come up
to them and ask, " How old t " They have to shout their
answer, as he is very deaf, upon which he will retort, " What !
no husband yet ! "

Moscheles is impatient to reach Vienna. He writes to
Frau von Lieben :

" My heart beats, dear friend, when I think of the pros-
pect before me, that of once more seeing my old Viennese
life reflected as in a mirror. With God's help, you and I
will revel in the memories of happy days and old associa
tions.

"Until then, as ever, your old friend,

"I. Moscheles."

From Vienna Mrs. Moscheles writes : " Moscheles, when



VISIT TO VIENNA. 305

visiting old friends and brother-artists, is received with open
arms, and Emily and 1 share this kind reception. This
journey, never intended as a professional tour, has become
one, we scarcely know how ; but we rejoice in the fact, for
the hearty reception he has met with, being in no way in-
ferior to that experienced in former days, has refreshed him
in body and mind."

His busy life in Vienna leaves him little time to devote
to his diary. We give a summary of his short entries : " I
heard Haydn's 'Seasons,' — ' Hasselt-Barth excellent.' In-
stead of Beethoven, Donizetti is now the sun of the music
world. That sun does not warm me, nor does it light me

forward on my path There was an evening party at

Court yesterday, where the Improvisator, Professor Wolff,
of Jena, was the attraction. There was music as well ;
Klatke, on the Jew's-harp, and Moreau on the guitar. . . .
Frau von Cibbini still lives, a remnant of the good old
times, and the Baroness Erdmann, n':e Erdudy. I was not
to be put off, and insisted on hearing Beethoven's C sharp
Minor Sonata, which she played splendidly as of old. She
is an interesting relic of the great days of real pianoforte

playing To-day I had a delightful reminder of my

youth, in Frau von Beer's highly successful trial and per
formance with me of my Rondo in A for four hands, which

I wrote for her when she was Frdulein Silny Aloys

Fuchs visited me for the purpose of showing me Handel's
MS. Cantate con Stromenti, ' Hero and Leander,' written
in Rome for Cardinal Ottoboni in the year 1709. It came
into Fuchs' possession in the year 1834. It begins thus •



y-T^ m m —^—^^-



^SF



E22EE£



Qual ti ri-veg-go oh Dio.

"Jaell brought me his marvellous boy Alfred : he is only
ten years old, and played my ' Nursery Tale' wonderfully
well. Heard Nicolai's opera ' Die Heimkehr der Verbann-
ten,' good in a dramatic point of view, but too much Italian-
ized. At Saphir's concert Heindl opened with his flute
variation — Furore. [ played my ' Serenade,' without ap-
plause, ' Nursery Tale,' ditto, ' Hungarian March,' vehe-



3o6 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

mently encored. Saphir wound up with a speech full of
humor and wit, giving us to understand that his best points
were cut out by the public censor— he only hoped he might
live to recover his capital so cruelly withheld."

" After some passing remarks on new and unimportant
operas, we iind severe strictures on the constant usage of
the Tyrolese or Italian cadence, while great eulogy is be-
stowed on a performance of " Don Juan" with Hasselt and
Draxler. Young Strauss's playing of dance-music is allowed
to equal that of his father. " At the ' Concordia,' I find
again many of the old Ludlaraists, among them the cele-
brated poets Castelli and Grillparzer, with several others of
note. Fischhof, the great collector of manuscript music,
brought me, to my great delight, ' Bach's MS. Concertos,'
which we tried over. He promises to let me have some of
his treasures for production in London.'

At his three concerts in Vienna, Moscheles played the
old favorite pieces, and many of his new compositions as
well ; among the latter was the " Hommage a Handel."
'' This time the applause pleased me more than ever, for it
was shared by my young and highly gifted friend Ernst
Pauer." Mrs. Moscheles writes : " People laugh when we
talk of a three weeks' stay here. ' A Moscheles,' they say,
' who has not been in Vienna for eighteen years, could just
as well pass a winter here as Liszt.' It rains concerts ; to-
morrow, for instance, there are five.

" I must tell you of a splendid f^te we attended lately,
where the youthful Archdukes, who looked charming in
blue and white satin, were made ' Knights of the Golden
Fleece." Ferdinand, the poor, puny, weakly Emperor,
when about to invest the youths with the accolade, could
only lift the massive old-fashioned sword with the help of
his Kollowrat. The Imperial family in their box, the Hun-
garian ' Noble Guard,' covered with jewels, the picturesque
turbans and mantles of the knights of the order, made the
whole scene a very imposing one."

After much deliberation, it had been decided that Mos-
cheles should prolong his stay in Vienna, and that his wife
and daughter should precede him to Hamburg. Moscheles
writes : " I chained myself to my piano, in order to scare
away my melancholy and sense of loneliness. You are now



COURT CONCERT. 3O/

driving out into the cold night ; T am just home from the
Court concert, and will sit up with you, in order to give you
particulars about it. . . . Suffice it to say tne Imperial
family wtre kind as ever ; they inquired for you both, and
reminded me of the concert at Prague after my illness.
I really came to grief with my extempore performance,
for, on asking their Majesties for a theme, they chose
something out of Donizetti's 'Linda di Chamouni.'
Of course 1 was forced to confess my ignorance of that
* most glorious of all operas,' so they proposed to me
'the old-fashioned perruque,' out of Mozart's operas. I
took ' Batti, batti' and the ' Champagne' song, and after-
wards, with an eye to the heroic, Archduke Carl wound up
with ' See, the conquering Hero.' In answer to the Em-
peror's question, ' Wasn't the last the march from the
*' Vestalin ? ' " I said, ' Something similar, your Majesty,'
and the Empress quickly interposed a question, ' Had I
studied in Vienna or Prague .'' ' At 10.30 the Court with-
drew, ices were handed round, and I put some sweetmeats
in my pocket for the children. Good night."

On the i3tb of December Moscheles writes: '' It is well
that we have made up our minds to this temporary separa-
tion, for my stay here seems to me endlessly protracted, as
the Archduchess Sophie wants me to play at her concert
on the 19th. My improvisation on Handelian themes
seems to have impressed her and the Archduke so favora-
bly that they now wish to hear me treat subjects from
Gluck's operas. In addition to this, they request me to
give a regular ' menu' of my compositions, with the 'Nur-
sery Tale' as dessert. I had a funny conversation with
Count Moritz D — , of which I give you a faint outline ; it
would require a Hoffmann to describe it properly. After
some hemming and hawing, he said : ' I have to hand over to
you, as a fee for your glorious playing at Court, this small
rouleau of ducats ; there are sixty of them.' I pleaded for
a souvenir instead. He cried down such presents as use-
less ; but I was a match for him, for it ended in his taking
back the ducats, and bringing me next day three diamond
studs, for which I thanked him. My patience has been
sorely tried at a performance of Mendelssohn's ' Lobge-
sang.' You may imagine how I delighted in hearing that



3o8 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

music — I, a fervid worshipper of Mendelssohn — while the
public sat listening in stolid indifference; no clapping of
hands disturbed my ecstasies. The Chorale, and song,

* Watchman, will the night soon pass ? ' moved me even to
tears. Herr Hoschek, a music-master, came up to me and
said, ' Isn't this music very artificially strung together ? '
My sensations were those of a man pitched head foremost
out of a balloon, but I smothered my anger, and said,

* That's as people choose to take it.' "

The next letter is from Prague : " Yesterday, accom-
panied by my brother and sisters, I visited the grave of my
parents ; a sweet if sad pilgrimage. On the whole, I feel
greatly refreshed by my quiet time here, spent as it is with
those near and dear to me, and far away from busy Vien-
na." The letter concludes with words of affection and ad-
vice, addressed individually to each of his children : " My
dear Emily, by this time you are beginning to settle down
after the harum-scarum life you have led in Vienna. Now
I look forward to yoar devoting more time to yourself, and
pioneering your brother and sisters in their studies. You,
dear Serena, will regard the meeting with your mother as a
happy turning-point, after the crucial time of separation,
and enjoy it all the more because you have known what
parting means. As for you, dear Felix, if the ' optime
marked under your exercise by your tutor relates to your
general behavior, you may feel always certain of my love
and gratification ; take the ' optime' as a motto to accom-
pany you through life. As for thee, my Benjamina, I ex-
pect to find a great big girl, and take care, when you jump
up to hug papa, that you don't upset him.'

At Leipzig the meeting with Hauptmann, David, Gade,
Joachim, and Frau Frege, has all the old fascination for
Moscheles. He writes: "Here I find a genuine artistic
atmosphere, where good music seems native to the place.
.... Yesterday I had a quiet evening with David, who
played me the new violin Concerto, which Felix has ex-
pressly written for him. It is most beautiful, the .last
movement thoroughly Mendelssohnian, tripping like a
dainty elf Gade, a young man who conducts the concerts
this season, has something in his features that reminds one of
Mozart's, judging by the portraits of that illustrious man."



CHAPTER XXVII.
1845.

Dresden — Intercourse with Musical Artists — The Leipzig Conserva-
toire — I'roposed Appointment — Berlin — The Opera House-
Jenny Lind — Article in a German Paper, and Reply — Bach's
Concertos — F.)reign Artists in London — Beethoven as a Conduc-
tor — Bonn — Musical Festival — Meyerbeer, Liszt, Chorley, Spohr
— Inauguration of Beethoven's Statue — Tumultuous Banquet at
the " Stern" — Paris.

A yT OSCHELES writes to his wife :—

" Leipzig, 1st January, 1845, 7 A. m.

" May every happiness and blessing attend you in the
njw year! Last night I wrote to you; to-day I will add
an important postscript. Schleinitz talked to me about
my taking a post in the Conservatoire, and gave me a
letter bearing on the matter to the Saxon Minister, von
Falkenstein. Of course, I could only answer that, being
unprepared for so sudden a proposal, I must take time to

consider The concert is over; this is my first

spare moment. This morning, after rehearsing my Trio
with David and Wittman, I heard Bach's glorious Motet (G
minor, 3-4), and dined at David's with Gade, Hauptmann,
and Joachim. I send you our Gewandhaus programme of
this evening: —

Mendelssohn's 95th Psalm.

Overture — Gluck's Iphigenie.

Beethoven's C minor Symphony ; the piano passages
marvellously done by the orchestra.

Miss Lincoln, a relation of the Dilkes, sang twice, and
beautifully. My G minor Concerto very well accompanied,
and as well received. After the concert, went to David's
wirh Gade, Schleinitz, and others."

''January 2d. — I went to Dresden — attended Dohler's



310 RECENT M USIC A ND M U SI CI A NS.

concert. He played beautifully, and so did Piatti. After
the concert spent a pleasant hour with Hiller."

"January 3d — Paid interesting visits to Madame
Schr' der-Devrient, Wagner, and R. Schumann. At 2
o'clock, back to Leipzig^ and in the evening played my
Trio with Wittman and David.''

"January 4th. — Back again to Dresden, immensely
pleesed with Gutzkow's 'Urbild des Tartuffe ;' Emile
Devrient excellent in the part of ' Moli" re."

"January 5th — My room was as full of visitors as at
Vienna, and, there being many 'prodigies' among them, I
am glad I had no piano. Hiller gave me a grand Matin 'e ;
we played mv E major Sonata Together; I followed with
severarsolos, aU of whijh were enthusiastically received.
In the evening went with Hiller, Lipinsky, and Reissiger to
hear Marschner"s new opera, 'Adoif von Nassau.' I'm
afraid he has helped himself to Spohr and Donizetti."

"January 6Lh. — I passed a sad hour with Weber's wid-
ow; she has my deepest sympathy, for quite recently she
has lost a son ; poor soul ! After such trouble as she has
already gone through. My visit seemed to please her."

"January 7th. — My concert today was beyond all
measure brilliant. Court and audience equally enthusiastic,
the ' Nursery Tale' encored ; my extempore performance,
they tell me. better than ever ; recalled after each piece,
and one recall here is equivalent to half a dozen in Vienna.
Bach"s Triple Concerto made a great sensation ; Madame
Schumann played a Cadenza composed by me, Hiller and
I extemporized ours Tea at Hiller's I for-
got to tell you that Minister von Falkenstein, after reading
Schleinitz's letter, received me in the most friendly manner,
and corroborated everything my friend had said to me
about tlie Leipzig Conservatoire ; nothing, he said, was
more ardently to be desired than that Mendelssohn and I
should take the joint direction of the Conservatoire, only
that the funds hitherto raised were inadequate for the pro-
posed appoincments. He and Schleinitz would submit the
plan for the King's approval. I think that both are well-
disposed towards me, so L have the prospect of once more
becoming a German artist and ridding myself of the fash-
ionable teacher and all conventionalism."



JENN. V LIN D— ME YERBEER. 3 j j

The next letter is from Berlin : "January loth, 1845 2
p. M. — To-day I played at HLirters, before some artists and
connoisseurs, my manuscript Studies, which I leave for
publication with Kistner ; they are intended for the ' Mo-
zart Stiftung.' .... I got to Birlin in time for Meyer-
beer's opera, ' The Camp of Silesia.' The magnificence of
this opera-house defies all description ; the house, the
piquant music, costumes, dancing, decorations, completely
took away my breath. Jenny Lind has fairly enchanted
me ; she is unique in her way, and her song with two con-
certante flutes is perhaps the most incredible feat in the
way of bravura singing that can possibly be heard ; I shall
have a great deal to tell you about this. Unfortunately I
could not get a word with Meyerbeer, who was forced to
hurry straight away from his desk as conductor to the bed-
side of his daughter Bianca, who was very dangerously ill.
All our friends here have received me with open arms, and
as usual wish to detain me, but a concert would cost me
too much time, and at present the King and all the aris-
tocracy are absent How lucky I was to find Jenny

Lind at home ! What a glorious singer she is, and so
unpretentious withal !....! had an hour with Meyer-
beer, who was as kind as ever, and would gladly detain me
at Berlin, but cannot clear away the difficulties ; I am glad
to tell you his daughter is on the way to recovery. He
talked with me about Mendelssohn's intimacy and friendly

relations with the King If railways and coaches

suit, I shall be with you all in Hamburg the day after to-
morrow."

In pursuance of this plan, Moscheles arrives in Ham-
burg, where he spends a few days with his family ; on their
return to London, Moscheles is glad to find that Mendels-
sohn's music to the Antigone of Sophocles is being re-
hearsed at Covent Garden.

'• My friend Hullah helped me by bringing some of his
choir to our house for a performance of some of Felix's
music ; we actually ventured, too, on some numbers of
Bach's Passion music. Sir Henry Bishop is elected per-
manent conductor of the Philharmonic Concerts. How is
it possible to prefer him to Bennett, who is so immeasura-
bly his superior 1 The experience of such anomalies con-



3 [2 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

firms me in my intention of retiring some time or other to
Germany, but for the present I cling in gratitude to Old
England. After all, in G.^many, too, I have my annoy-
ances ! Witness this article which I enclose, although I
am afraid it will vex you. As for my detractors I feel to-
wards them like a general, not afraid of small wounds, if
only he can keep to the field of battle ; nor should I have
answered my calumniator, if the Hamburg correspondent
had not taken up the wretched gossip. Please send him
the article and the reol^ ."^

About this time Moscheles had the misfortune to lose
his brother ; it was a severe blow, and only by degrees and
under the n hence of his art, does he recover from it. . . .

■* The article alluded to was this : " Moscheles during his last stay
inGermany has lost exactly as much as he made on the occasion of his
tirst visit — viz. 800/. (9600 florins). This sum has been spent partly in
travelling expenses, and partly in unsuccessful concerts. He him-
self writes to a friend in Prague ; * Liszt costs me a great deal ; I
couldn't believe that now-a-days people form a different opinion of pi-
anoforte playing ; it is unfortunately true. I was in Germany to expe-
rience the fact that, since Liszt, I have become " rococo." Happily, I
have so much money that the loss doesn't hurt me, and my talent is
quite as much as. is required for England. What pains me most of all
is that I have not succeeded in Vienna ; there, where I lived such
happy days, 1 had not contemplated dying.' "

Here is the reply : —

" London, March, 1845.
" When some German friends sent me the above article, I intended to
pass it over with that silence which I take to be the most proper reply to
such a production ; finding, however, that since its first appearance in
an obscure paper, it has found its way into other publications, I consid-
er it to be my duty towards all the courts in Germany, which during
last autumn and winter received me with so much distinction, as well
as to the public of the various towns where I was so kindly welcomed,
hereby to declare that the whole contents of the article are untrue. In
the course of last September, October, November, and December, I gave
concerts at Aix, Frankfort, Darmstadt, Carlsnihe, Stuttgart, Augsburg,
Munich, Vienna, Dresden, and Leipzig, and have had as little oppor-
tunity of complaining of the damage said to be done to me by my
friend Liszt, as was the case some years since, when we gave our con-
certs in London at the same time. As regards the attack against Eng-
land, I, as a man of honor, should not be capable of expressing myself
so ungratefully towards a country where I have lived and prospered
for the last twenty-two years, and I therefore repeat my entire disavow-
al of the article above named. *' I. Moscheles.



DA Vin S •• DESER T." 3 ; ^

• "The thought of my loss is interwoven with everything I
undertake, and yet when I played yesterday at Alsager's I
felt the power of art both to soothe and elevate ; they
made me play four of Beethoven's Sonatas and an Impro-
visation, and I was glad that my powers did not fail in the
B major Sonata. In the Adagio in F sharp minor my feel-
ings were most powerfully moved, but in the fugue it pain-
ed me to find so many extravagances. It contains more
discords than concords, and Beethoven seems to me all the
while to be saying, ' I intend working up a subject in a
learned manner, it may sound well or not.' "

Professor Fischhof, of Vienna, sent the promised G
minor Concerto of Bach, which (with the Concerto in D
major) Moscheles introduces at his Matinee for classical
pianoforte music. The duke of Cambridge came to Mos-
cheles' house for the express purpose of hearing Bach's
music. " The Duke, accompanied by his groom, rode up
to our door, and came in quite unceremoniously. He seemed
in great delight with the music, applauded enthusiastically,
and behaved so kindly to my children. He asked Felix
what profession he was going to follow. The answer was,
*I'm going to be an architect.' The Duke replied, 'Well,
you'll be too late to do anything for me, but you can build
me a mausoleum.' On leaving us he expressed his grati-
tude in the most friendly way, adding that it had been one
of the most enjoyable hours he had spent for a long time."

Moscheles soon after this receives the Royal command
to play at a concert in Buckingham Palace, and shares the
honor with other artists. " There is a legion of them here
this season," Mrs. Moscheles writes ; " you ask me who is
best ? I don't know ; Vieuxtemps is admirable, so is Sivori ;
Teresa Milanollo is certainly astonishing ; as German vocal-
ists, Pischek, Staudigl, and Oberhoffer are rivals, and of pi-
anists, we have two of murderous capacities. Vocal France
is represented by Viardot Garcia, Dorus Gras, etc., etc."

Moscheles writes: "I heard Felicien David's 'D'sert,'
wi:h its piquant original melodies and harmonies ilkistra
tive of Oriental life. The ' March of the Caravans,' with
its Clarinet Obligato, and the descriptive scene with the
sunrise pleased me, but on the whole the subject is treated'
in the light Frenchified manner. I have heard also a

14



314 RE CEN T M USIC A ND M USICIA NS.

' Quadrille and Polka Opera,' by Verdi, for voices, key-
bugles, trombones, and big drums ; it is called ' Ernani.'
The next evening, by way of a contrast, we had at the An-
tient Concert a • Concerto by Emilio del Cavaliere,' com-
posed in the year 1600, for the violino francese, chitarra,
teorbo, arp.i, organo, violino, etc. The well known ' Roman-
esca of the i5ih Century' reminded me of hoop-petticoats
and powder."

Sir Henry Bishop had directed the first three Philhar-
monic Concerts, the remaining five were entrusted to
Moscheles, who, at the rehearsal, addressed the band to
the fjiiowinge.'fict : '• Gentlemen, as we are here assembled
together, 1 should like to compare your performances with
the fingers of an admirably trained pianoforte player's hand.
Now, will you allow me to be the hand which sets these
fingers in motion, and imparts life to them .'' May I try to
convey to you all the inspirations I feel when I hear the
works of the great masters? Thus may we achieve ex-
cellence." Another time when a Beethoven Symphony was
to be played, he tells the band how he heard this and
other great works of Beethoven when they first came out,
and how he had kept the traditions of the " Tempi," which
at that time were given by Baethoven himself. At last he
amuses his hearers exceedingly by imitating Beethoven's
movements as a conductor ; his stooping down more and
more until he almost disappeared at the " piano'' passages,
the gradual rising up at the " crescendo," and standing tip-
toe and boundnig up at tne " fortissimo." Moscheles does
not forget to add : " Inasmuch, however, as I cannot
emulate the great man in his works, I abstain from copying
him in his attitudes ; with him it was all originality, with
rne it would be caricature."

At the last of these concerts, Moscheles played Bach's
" D major Concerto," and is gratified by the marked im-
provement of the orchestra in the "piano" passages. " In
time 1 should educate these clever fellows to observe even
still more light and shade."

Moscheles, at the end of the season, sets off for the
Musical festival at Bonn, and writes to his wife from Co-
logne : " The unsettled and gloomy weather resembled my
•'rame of mind, for the separation had disturbed my equa-



MUSICAL FESTIVAL AT BO.VN:



315



nimity. My philosophy must aid me I have visited

Meyerbcier here and met him alone with Pischek. Mutual
kisses were the beginning and prelude to a number of in-
quiries after you, and then we talked of the festival. Mey-
erbeer is beside himseh'" with the press of business ; by
to morrow he must begin the rehearsals of the Court Con-
certs. The best of the vocal music is to be without orches-
tra, and only with pianoforte accompaniment ; in the
interval between the rehearsals, Meyerbeer will go to Bonn
to hear the performance there." On the loth of August,
Moscheles comes to Bonn and writes : "I am at the Hotel
de I'Etoile d'Or, where are to be found all the crowned
heads of music — brown, grey, or bald — all wigged or lack-
ered pates ; this is a rendezvous for all ladies, old and
young, fanatics for music — all art-judges, German and
French reviewers and English reporters, lastly, the abode
of Liszt, the absolute monarch, by virtue of his princely
gifts outshining all else. Dr. Bacher, from Vienna, offers
me a share of his room — no small boon when the streets
are crowded with houseless travellers, like the roofless after
a great conflagration. Gentlemen and ladies, several En-
glish among them, with a whole army of porters and
bandboxes, are begging for a shake-down in hotels or
private houses ; friends and acquaintances meet one another ;
liags of various colors are waving — such a hurry-skurry
everywhere. I have already seen and spoken to colleagues
from all the four quarters of the globe ; I was also with
Liszt, who had his hands full of business, and was sur-
rounded with secretaries and masters of ceremonies, while
Chorley sat quietly ensconced in the corner of a sofa.
Liszt, too, kissed me, then a few hurried and confused
words passed between us, and I did not see him again
until I met him afterwards in the concert room. We sat
dov.n about 400 of us to dinner, and the first concert took
place, under Spohr's direction, in the new Beethoven Hall.
The Grand Mass in D major gave me certainly exquisite,
although not quite unalloyed pleasure, for occasionally 1
could not help feeling that the composition diverges from
the genuine church style, and thereby loses that unity of
color which I prize so highly in other works of the
master. The ' Ninth Symphony,' which followed after



3i6



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



wards, was given almost faultlessly, the soprano pal
in the choruses not only better than in London, but
better than I have ever heard anywhere. Staudigl inimita-
ble, but the kettledrums not better tuned than in London.
Mr. Jager a member of the committee, gave me a place of
honor among the artists ; Liszt behaves to me with marked
kindness whenever we meet. I write you these lines after
the public supper in the hotel, by way of preparing myself
pleasantly for a night's rest, meanwhile I remain con
amore languendo, poco a poco agitato, ma sempre Giusto,
yours." ....

From the Diary.

"August nth. — Anew steamer was christened 'Beet-
hoven ' with great ceremony. Amid salvos of cannon, the
^-essel, accompanied by one other, sped merrily to Nonnen-
werth, where a cold collation was in readiness. I was capi-
tally placed between Spohr and Fischhof Pickpockets
active. We escaped untouched."

"August 1 2th. — From eight o'clock this morning the
streets were alive v.^ith bands of students, guilds, etc. Waited
at the Rathhaus, and afterwards managed to get into the
Cathedral with the throng. Beethoven's Mass in C gave
me exquisite enjoyment. From the Cathedral went to the
galleries which are erected around the Beethoven monument.
1 was exposed for a long time to the burning rays of the sun
— a great annoyance — released at last by the arrival of the
distinguished guests upon the balcony of the F.rstenberg
House. Tliese were the King and Queen of Prussia,
Queen Victoria, and Prince Albert, with a numerous suite.
Speech by Professor Breidenstein. I was deeply moved
when I siw the statue unveiled, the more so because HLlhnel
has obtained an admirable likeness of the immortal com-
poser. Another tumult and uproar at the tabled h tel in
the ' Stern ' Hotel i sat near Bacher, Fischhof, and Vesque,
Liszt in all his glory, a suite of ladies and gentlemen in at-
tendance on him, Lola Montez among the former. At hve
o'clock the Concert. Dr. Breidenstein asked me if I would
accompany the ' Adelaide ' at the morning concert As
Madame Pleyel was to play a concerto on that occasion, I



LAST DA V OF THE FESTIVAL,



317



thought it infra dig. to perform an inferior service, so I
refused."

" August 13th. — Last day of the festival, which began
with Liszt's Cantata. It has much that is well thought and felt,
as, e.g the introduction of the Andante of the B major Trio,
which is cleverly managed ; there are also some good instru-
mental effects ; as a whole, however, it is too fragmentary.
Liszt, who was vehemently applauded, received an orchestral
flourish. The Court arriving late, the Cantata was repeated,
and the King made a selection from the programme of the
concert, which he staid to hear. Overtures ' Egmont ' and
' Coriolan ' admirably conducted by Spohr. Violoncello
solo, Ganz. Weber's Concert stuck, Madame Pleyel. Air
from ' Fidelio,' Miss Sabilla Novello. Liszt accompanied
Fr.;ulein Kratky in a song.

" Liszt's performance of Beethoven's Concerto in E flat
major, almost entirely satisfied one : I can't imagine any one
playing the energetic and spirited part of the work better
than he did. In other parts I should have preferred a little
more warmth and tenderness.

" When the Court had gone, some other pieces were
performed, others omitted. At two o'clock banquet at the
' Stern.' Crowd even greater than before. Immediately
after the King's health had been proposed, Wolff, the Im-
provisatore, gave a toast which he called the ' Trefoil.' It was
to represent the perfect chord, Spohr the key-note, lyiszt the
connecting link between all parties, the third — Professor
Breidenstein, the Dominant, leading all things to a happy
solution. Universal applause. Spohr proposes the health
of the Queen of England, Dr. Wolff that of the Professor
H -hnel, the sculptor of the monument, and also that of the
brass founder. Liszt proposes Prince Albert ; a professor
with a stentorian voice is laughed and coughed down, peo-
ple will not listen to him, and then ensued a series of most
dis,:^raceful scenes which originated thus : Liszt spoke rather
abstrusely upon tJie subject of the festival. ' Here all nations
are met to pay honor to the master. May they live and
prosper, the Dutch, the English, the Viennese, who have
made a pilgrimage hither I " Upon this Chelard gets up in
a passion and screams out to Liszt, ' Vous avez oublie les
Francais.' Many voices breal^ in? a regular tumult ensues,



3 1 8 RE CEN T M USrC A ND M USICIA .\ S.

some for, some against the speaker. At last Liszt makes
himself heard, but, in trying to exculpate himself, seems to
get entangled deeper and deeper in a labyrinth of words,
seeking to convince his hearers that he has lived fifteen
years among Frenchmen, and would certainly not inten-
tionally speak slightingly of them. The contending parties,
however, become more uproarious, many leave their seats,
the din becomes deafening, and the ladies pale with fright.
The fete is interrupted for a full hour. Dr. WoltT, mounting
a table, tries to speak, but is hooted down three or tour
times, and at last quits the room, glad to escape the Babel
of tongues. Knots of people are seen disputing in every
part of the great salon, and on the confusion increasing, the
cause of dispute is lost sight of. The French and English
journalists mingle in this fray, by complaining of omissions
of all sorts on the part of the Festival Committee. When
the tumult threatens to become serious, the landlord hits
upon the bright idea of making the band play its loudest,
and this drowns the noise of the brawlers, who adjourned to
the open air. The waiters once more resumed their services,
although many of the guests, especially ladies, had vanished.
The contending groups outside showed their bad taste and
ridiculous selfishness, for Vivier and some Frenchmen got
Liszt among them, and reproached him in the most shame-
ful way. G. ran from party to party, adding fuel to the fire,
Chorley was attacked by a French journalist, Mr. J. J.
would have it that the English gentleman, Wentworth
Dilke, was a German, who had slighted him : I stepped in
between the two, so as at least to put an end to this unfair
controversy. I tried as well as I could to soothe these
overwrought minds, and pronounced funeral orations over
those who had perished in this tempest of words. I alone
remained shot- proof and neutral, so also did my Viennese
friends. By six o'clock in the evening I became almost
deaf from the noise, and was glad to escape ; 1 assure you
that a cup of coffee and some music at the Countess Almasy's
were very refreshing after the events of the afternoon. I
didn't go to the festival ball, preferring to write this account,
and to spend a couple of hours with Fischhof, who showed
me his ' Theory of Transposing.' "

In an old French poem, the following passage occurs :



LETTER FROM MEYERBEER.



319



" Vous m'envoyez le lendemain un billet date de la veille."
Moschr.les was destined to experience a similar fate when
die Musical Festival at Bonn was over. He had received
no invitation from Meyerbeer or Liszt for the Court Con-
certs in Stolzenfels and Coblentz, for which many of his
art-brethren had been summoned by circulars. He trav-
elled, therefore, on the 14th to Cologne, where he met his
family and spent a couple of days, and it was not until the
17th, and consequently after his departure, that the follow-
ing letter reached Cologne :

'• HoxoRED Friend, — His Majesty the King, who has
heard that you are in these parts, has commanded me to
in\ite your attendance in the Court Concerts, which the
King intends giving in his castle at Coblentz to-morrow
evening, Saturday the i6th. Count von Radern has this
moment commissioned me to write to you in the name of
the King, but it is now midnight, the concert in Stolzenfels
is just over, and it is, therefore, impossible to forward the
invitation before Saturday. 1 hope it will not reach you too
late. In any case it will show you the friendly remem-
brance and the hearty esteem the Kuig has for you. Fare-
well, dear friend.

" Your most devoted,

" Meyerbeer."

Mr. Lef^bre, of the house of Eck in Cologne, had added
to this note a few lines expressing regret, for he foresaw
that the letter would not reach Moscheles in time. When
Moscheles sends his father-in-law copies of these letters, he
observes : " I leave to your sagacity the fathoming of the
' why' and 'wherefore' oi this transaction. Why, when I
was actually in Bonn, did I not get an invitation to the
Court Concerts at the same time with the other artists }
How was it that the King's command di.l not reach me at
the right time? One might suppose that a Royal messen-
ger, despatched from Stolzenfels at an early hour on Sat-
urday the i6th, would reach me quick enough in Cologne."

Whatever little disappointment Moscheles may have felt
at the time, it was soon forgotten in the quiet repjse he en-
joyed at Lichtenthal, near Baden-Baden. There he met hi:>



320



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



friends the Rosenhains, and Felicien David, and the pleas-
ure of musical intercourse with them was varied by the en-
joyment of frequent excursions in the neighborhood. Of
Felicien David's Symphony in E flat, he says: " The music
has plenty of flowing melody, it is not commonplace, the
instrumentation is richly colored, but the unity of style is
not pieserved throughout."

From Baden Moscheles goes to Paris, where he compo-
ses his " Sonate Symphonique," and is summoned to St.
Cloud to play his new composition before the Court. " Ac-
cordingly," he says, ''the day before we left Paris, Emily
and I set off for St. Cloud, and were very graciously receiv-
ed by the Royal family. When we arrived, the Queen,
Madame Adela.de, the Duchess of Orleans, with their suite,
were at tea ; the King came from an adjoining gallery to
hear the Sonata, which Emily played to my entire satisfac-
tion ; she had to play a solo too. I improvised a la Gretry,
the King's favorite 'genre.' Our Royal listeners were evi-
dently gratified."

In December Moscheles receives an important letter
from Mendelssohn, who is anxious to ascertain if his friend
intends to carry out the idea of migrating to Germany which
they have so often discussed, and settling down at Leipzig
to work with him at the Conservatoire. "What grand re-
sults for art might fairly be expected if you could make up
your mind to accept the post ! I don't doubt for a moment
that the life here would suit you, as I know in what light
you look upon your present professional life. Besides, I
candidly own that from all I hear about the doings there,
and from what I witnessed myself to a certain extent a year
and a half ago, I can well understand how from year to year
you get less satisfied with your surroundings, and wish to

escape from them Now please, if you want in any way

to move in the matter, let me know, and give me an oppor-
tunity of opening a negotiation, which possibly may become
one of the most beneficial in its results that the musical
world here has ever experienced."

Moscheles was from the first inclined to accept the post,
but wrote tc bis friend, asking for time to weigh the matter.



CHAPTER XXVIII.

1846.

Leif ;ig Negotiations — The Appointment Accepted — Benedict's
" Crusaders" — Farewell Concert — Marriage of Moscheles' Eldest
Daughter — Birmingham Musical Festival — Mendelssohn's " Eli-
jah " — Remarkable Episode — Farewell to London — Reception in
Leipzig — Professors of the Conservatoire — Congratulatory Dinner
— Attraction of Leipzig — Evening with the Mendelssohns — Exam-
ination of Candidates for ihe Conservatoire.

AS early as the 2d of January Moscheles receives the
formal offer of his appointment at the Leipzig Con-
servatoire, and Mendelssohn writes : "On the day that you
accept, I intend drinking my best wine and a glass or two
of champagne into the bargain." After giving particulars
relative to the cost of living, household expenditure, etc., in
Leipzig, he continues: '* The universal wish of the people in
Leipzig, and their joy at the prospect of your coming, al-
though honorable to yourself, are in no way commensurate
with the honor you would confer on them by your settling
among them ; but such an interchange of feelings must be
fruitful of good, and is the earnest of a happy future. In a
word, I wish you would come !" Moscheles writes to his
father-in-law on the 21st of January : "You will understand,
from the enclosed copies of letters just received, the progress
of my Leipzig negotiations. I feel more inclined than ever
to give up my position here.* . . . Of course, my wife and I
fully discuss the all-important point; we are completely
agreed in this, that in the matter of material comforts we
shall not expect to find London in Leipzig, but these luxu-
ries we shall not miss, if I realize all I anticipate from the
art atmosphere, and in my new vocation I shall find some

* As a proof that Moscheles, in abandor.ing his brilliant position in
London, was actuated by his desire to serve the cause of art, it need
only be stated that his salary as Professor of the Leipzig Conservatoire
was 800 thalers (120/.) per annum.

ZI



322 RECEN T M USIC A ND M U SI CI A NS,

compensation for the many dear and kind friends we leave
behind. Parting from them individually, and, indeed, from
the English nation generally, will cost us a bitter pang, for
twenty-four years of unswerving kindness has laid upon us
obligations which we can only pay with life-long gratitude.
On the other hand, we shall come nearer to you ail — that will
be delightful. My acceptance of the post must, however, be
weighed well, as I am the father of a family. I beg you
will continue your duties as President of the Council on the
Moscheles interest, and send me the protocol of each sitting \
but don't let us worry ourselves upon the matter, for, what-
ever fortune may have in store for us, my wife and I are
such a happy pair that we should be quite content to live in
a cottage, as long as we could educate our children so well
that they may never feel the want of great riches. With re-
gard to yourself, I shall ever remain the same in London or
Leipzig, " Your faithful son-in-law,

"I. Moscheles."

On the 24th of January Moscheles receives a letter from
Mendelssohn, which is so satisfactory an answer to all his
questions that on the 25th we read in the diary : — " To-day
I sent my letter of acceptance to the directing body of the
Leipzig Conservatoire. I have crossed the Rubicon."
Mendelssohn was not long in sending the expressions of his
joy. *' When you do come. 111 have some houses painted
rose-color, but your arrival alone will give a rose-colored
tinge to the old place." Before the news had spread through
the musical world, Moscheles received an offer from Bir-
mingham to direct the grand musical festival there in Sep-
tember. Mendelssohn's " Elijah" was to be the only work
given under the composer's own direction. Nothing could
b^ more flattering or honorable to Moscheles at the close
of his residence in England, and he gladly accepted the
offer. He wished to secure the services of Mile. Jenny
Lind and Pischek, but unfortunately they had other engage-
ments.

In the course of this season Benedict's new opera, "The
Crusaders," was published. "The music is pleasing, and
often dramatically effective ; the work gorgeously put upon
the stage. Cramer, Beale, and Co. published it, and Bene-



FAREWELL CONCERT IN ENGLAND.



323



diet wanted me to make a pianoforte arrangement of the
most favorite airs. This, however, I declined, seeing they
had refused to publish my ' Sonate Symphonique" on the
ground of its being too serious a work."

Moscheles' "Four Matin 'es for Classical Pianoforte
Music" were brilliantly successful, but before long he was
absorbed in the cares and anxieties of preparations for his
farewell concert. He wished to show the public on this oc-
casion that to the last he would act consistently with the
creed he had adopted throughout his professional career in
England — there should be no " concert monstre," with a
host of Italian singers and a crowd of rival instrumental
players ; he would be no slave to fashion ; the programme,
therefore, was short and pithy. With Madame Pieyel as a
coadjutor in his " Sonate Syraphonique," and Pischek, and
a few vocalists to assist him, he augurs well for the result.
and on the 19th of June he writes to his father-in-law : —
"The outburst of enthusiasm every time I appeared, the
waving of handkerchiefs, the cheering — every one standing
upon the benches— all this affected me, and when I came to
make my parting bows, I could hardly restrain my emotion ;
I remained another hour surrounded by friends and acquaint-
ance ; really my public farewell could not have taken place
under more favorable auspices." " And," adds Mrs. Mos-
cheles, " we are pleased to hnd that our real friends think
Moscheles acts well and wisely in electing to till a public
situation, with his dear friend Mendelssohn for a colleague.
Besides this, he needs some repose after his many laborious
years in London."

During the summer months, however, Moscheles is
busier than ever, for there are the Birmingham programmes
to be made, and many public engagements to be attended
to. Moscheles gives a farewell party, and over 200 invita-
tions are accepted.

" 1 usually get to bed about one or two o'clock ; thank
heaven, my constitution seems made of iron, otiierwise 1
could not stand the day and night work. Yesterday, or
rather this morning, I saw the sun rise at four o'clock, as 1
was going to bed. It is now eight o'clock, and we are up
and writing. Our party last night began with music, and
ended with dancing. I, old as I am, tripped it lightly with



324



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



the youngsters. To-day I have six lessons, and at 5 o'clocl*
1 must be in the Freemasons' Hall ; to-morrow, besides the
Jessons, I have to conduct a concert a mile long for a
pupil.
\ Mrs. Moscheles writes : " Since the farewell concert, the
■;newspapers never cease trumpeting Moscheles' praises, and
deplore the loss that art will sustain by his leaving England.
Chorley has used the occasion for suggesting a question
jwhich seems to me very near to the point : ' Could not the
great City of London, as well as the small burgher-town,
cffer the great artist an appointment which should be made
so advantageous and desirable as to keep him permanently
fixed in England?"

This year was an eventful one to Moscheles in more
ways than one, for his eldest daughter, Emily, was married
to Mr. Roche who had long been a friend of the family, and
had already made a reputation as a Professor of French
Literature.

At the end of the season, Mr. Bartholomew, the transla-
tor of the German text of Mendelssohn's "Elijah," brought
to Moscheles the score of the first part.

" The beauties of the work become more apparent to me
each time I sit down to the piano to study it ; doubly so at
the preliminary rehearsals." The first rehearsal, under
Mendelssohn himself, took place at Moscheles' house on the
10th of August, and the two others, with full band, follow
shortly afterwards in the Hanover Square Rooms. The
lady singers give Mendelssohn some trouble; one finds fault
with the song, and insists on its being transposed ; Mendels-
sohn resists with studied politeness, but afterwards. " when
we are alone, most unreservedly expresses himself about the
' coolness of such 3 suggestion '" The scene now changes
to Birmingham, where Moscheles conducts a first rehearsal,
but ii so unwell that Mendelssohn takes his place at the
second. He recovered however so far as to conduct the
. * Creation' at the first morning performance, the second part
of which consisted of numbers from Rossini's " Stabat
Mater," with Grisi, Bassano, and Mario for the principal
singers ; after that a mixed Italian programme, which took
three hours, and " thoroughly satisfied the public. In the
evening I had more rehearsals of various pieces." Mrs



FIRST PERFORM A NCE OF " EUJA H," 325

Moscbeles writes : " On our arrival we went to the Town
Hall ; that splendid building greatly impressed me, and, at
the overwhelming reception given to ray husband by the
orchestra, I was deeply moved. After the rehearsal he
studied his scores, while 1 helped Mr. Bartholomew in cor-
recting the text, and so we went on till one o'clock in the
morning. The festival promises to be a very profitable one,
an unusual number of seats having been sold."

On the following day Moscheles writes : " August 26th.
— Mendelssohn achieved his most brilliant triumph in
this day's performance of his * Elijah.' In my opinion
this work has more vividness and more dramatic variety
than 'St. Paul,' and yet it is written in the purest oratorio
style, and places him yet another step higher." Mrs. Mos-
cheles adds : "Yes, Mendelssohn's triumph at yesterday's
performance was something quite unparellaled and unheard
of. I think eleven numbers had to be repeated, and that
too amid a storm of applause and clapping of hands, de-
monstrations usually forbidden ; but on this occasion all at-
tempt at restraint was hopeless, the noisy scene reminded
me of the pit in a theatre. Staudigl was a magnificent Eli-
jah, Philip, the bass singer, admirable, and Mendelssohn
was particularly pleased with the singing of the two Misses
Williams."

In the course of this Festival Moscheles played his
" Recollections of Ireland," and with Mendelssohn his
" Hommage a Handel." The veteran Braham sang the
first recitative and air in the " Messiah," and Mendelssohn
gained fresh laurels with his lovely music to the " Midsum-
mer Night's Dream."

On the 28th August Moscheles notes the following epi-
sode : " We had a miscellaneous selection ; the chief feat-
ure consisting of pieces from Beethoven and Spohr. The
orchestral parts of a short recitative, the words of which
had been printed in the books for the audience, were not
forthcoming ; we were all in a difficulty, but Mendelssohn
came to the rescue. He quietly betook himself to an ad-
joining room, and there, while the preceding pieces of the
programme were being played, he composed the recitative,
scored it, and copied the parts, and these were admirably
played, with the ink scarcely dry, at first sight, by the band



32b J^ECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

— the public knew nothing of what had happened — that's
the way a Mendelssohn manages."

On the 29th August Mrs. Moscheles writes from Lon-
don : " Yesterday at four o'clock, with a final beat of Mos-
cheles baton, the great Birmingham Musical Festival came
to an end ; in the opinion of every one present, it was one
of the most brillant and beautiful ever celebrated. The
committee has, in the most flattering terms, expressed to
my husband their obligation and complete satisfaction.
Moscheles' short, but for the time anxious illness, was the
only awkward occurrence, but it served to show us Men-
delssohn once more in the light of a real friend." " Yes,"
adds Moscheles, " his sympathy was like that of a brother ;
his frequent visits when everybody would so gladly have
detained him, his attentions to me with such great work be-
fore him, were most touching. When he came away from
the preliminary rehearsal, which he had conducted for me,
he appeared exhausted ; Charlotte handed him a glass of
champagne, and the effect was magical, for it completely
revived him."

The friends soon have to separate, and the Moscheles
return to Chester Place, but only to bid it a last farewell.
Who can wonder that a feeling of sadness crossed the mind
of Moscheles, now on the eve of breaking up a home, the
scene of sixteen years of happiness. To a man the master
bias of whose mind was always leaning

" To homefelt pleasures and to gentle scenes ;"

the nursery where his children played, the study where he
passed so many hours of joyful and conscientious labor, the
rooms endeared by the memory of birthday festivals, and
identified with the presence of beloved friends — to part
from all these things cost him a wrench, and, however
bright the future, it was a painful task to bid farewell to the
old familiar scenes.

At Frankfort the Moscheles had the good fortune to
hear the enchanting Jenny Lind, and arrived at Leipzig on
the 2ist of October. We quote from the diary: "There
Felix Mendelssohn and his wife received us most affection-
ately : owing to their though tfulness, we found every ar-



S TA FF F FR OFF SSOR SAT CON SEE FA TO IRE. 327

rangement made for our comfort. No courier could have
catered so skilfully, none but real friends have acted so
kindly." On the 26th of October Moscheles writes : "I have
now probably arrived at the final chapter in my art career ;
sure as I am of your sympathy. I should like to give you
ihe fullest information about my life in this place. It has
begun, with God's help, under the best auspices, and if you
ask who is the mainspring of our present happiness, we say
Mendelssohn, and always Mendelssohn, my more than
brother !

*• On the evening after my arrival, three directors of the
Conservatoire came to give me a kindly welcome, and to
express a hope that I should find my new duties agreeable ;
they assured me they would do all in their power to meet
my wishes in the Conservatoire. Next day I returned these
visits, and in the evening had the great delight of hearing
a Gewandhaus Concert. Mendelssohn's conducting was as
admirable as ever, the band obeyed his slightest hint.
Madame Schumann played Beethoven's * B major Concerto'
to great perfection ; I felt this to be a real atmosphere of
art. Many of the elder members of the orchestra greeted
me warmly, and after the concert we supped very cosily at
the Mendelssohns. Yesterday, I talked with Schleinitz
about the Conservatoire, and he showed me the following
list of the Professors : —

Dr. F. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy — Composition and So-
lo playing.

Organist — C. F. Becker — Organ Playing, Practice in
the Arc of Conducting.

David, Klengel, Sachse — Violin Teachers.

Gade — Harmony and Composition.

Hauptmann — Harmony, Counterpoint.

Moscheles — Head of the Department for Playing and
Composition.

Plaidy, Wenzel — Pianoforte Playing.

B .»hme — Solo and Choral Singing.

Brendel — Lectures on Music.

Neumann — Italian.

Richter — Harmony and Instrumentation.

" Through Schleinitz I heard that Mendelssohn earn-
estly objected to his name standing first on the list, instead



328



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



of following the rest in alphabetical order. Yesterday we
heard Divine service in the Nicolai Church — a good sermon
and admirable organ. Afterwards I attended a dinner
given in my honor by the whole body of professors, with
Felix at their head. The f-/te was held in ^ckerlein's Cel-
lar. I was greeted cordially on all sides, my place as chief
guest marked with a bouquet of flowers, and, after a sump-
tuous dinner and plenty of champagne, Felix spoke to the
following effect : ' Although he had no talent or gift for
speaking, on this occasion he must express the feelings up-
permost in his mind. It had long been his wish to see me
settled in Leipzig, and in active duty at the Conservatoire,
and he rejoiced in the sympathy evinced by his colleagues
and the public, now that these wishes had been realized.
He could never forget the impression which my talent had
made upon him, as a boy, how I had kindled the sacred fire
within him, and spurred him to higher aims. I had always
assisted and cheered him on, and he felt proud of my last-
ing friendship ; he was sure that those present shared his
feelings, and would join with him in drinking my health.'
Musical cheers were given ; 1 felt much moved, and could
only stammer out a few words of thanks in answer to one
who, I said, had far outstripped me as an artist, and whom,
as a man, I sincerely loved and honored.

" By degrees we dropped the sentimental, and drank
every one's health ; we blew large clouds of tobacco, and
the, hours from one till six sped along cheerily. Then I
took another long walk with Felix, and, in the course of our
confidential talk, asked him why he preferred Leipzig as a
residence, while the greatest cities in Europe were ready to
. do him homage. He explained his preference by saying
that the art atmosphere and tendencies of Leipzig had
special attractions for him, and that the Conservatoire was
a subject so near his heart that, even during the composi-
tion of his last Oratorio, he had not neglected his pupils.
We spent the evening at the Mendelssohns' in a social
quiet way, and were joined by their relatives, Mr. and Mrs.
Schunck, who inhabit the same house with us. After sup-
per we amused ourselves on two pianos, and at last had a
grand improvisation together, in which Felix was so inspired



RECEPTIOA' IN LEIPZIG. 339

that in my enthusiasm I almost forgot my own part in
listening to him.

"Just imagine, this evening vve hardly recognized our
good friend Mendelssohn, for his children had painted on
his face an imperial and moustache. He had been playing
with his children at ' Schwarzen Peter,' and had had to suf-
fer the usual penalty. We live in the second floor in Ger-
hard's Garten ; the Schuncks have the first, and they are
charming neighbors."

On the 26th October, we read in the diary: " Felix, with
his usual thoughtfulness, had prepared for me a musical
performance by his best pupils to be given at the Conserv-
atoire, and I heard some excellent pianoforte-players.
Stadtrath Seeburg made a speech in which he alluded to
my appointment at the Conservatoire as an important
event ; I replied that I only regarded myself as a single
stone of the beautiful building which rested upon firm
foundations," etc.

''October 27th. — Trial of candidates for the Conserva-
toire. Mendelssohn assisted ; his feeling animated both
teachers and pupils. In the evening I was at his house,
where we talked a great deal about musical matters and
household arran4;ements ; he gave me much good advice.
I saw a chorus he had lately composed with the title, ' To
the Sons of Art.' Joachim played with him the ' Kreutzer
Sonata.' " On another occasion Moscheles admires some
new and still unpublished " Lieder ohne Worte." He can
hardly understand that Mendelssohn should wish, after the
performance at Birmingham, to make still further alterations
in his " Elijah." " I asked him if that beautiful work is
intended to become still more beautiful, and he said, ' Yes,'
without being quite clear in his mind what and how much
he was going to alter. I replied, ' Your genius is too ex-
acting in its demands, it has already surpassed itself in this
" Elijah ; " now employ your powers upon new works.'
My arguments, however, were ineffective, and he abided by
his determination that changes must be made. The violin
quintet in B flat major is next examined, Mendelssohn de-
claring that the last movement is not good ; he also shows
me. the ' Lauda Sion.' " Later on the great composer is
ftill of anxiety about his faithful servant Johann, who lies



330



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



dangerously ill in his house. Mendelssohn daily visited
the sick-room, and read aloud to him ; he tended him till
the hour of his death, and sincerely lamented his loss.

Moscheles and his wife often take long walks with the
Mendelssohns, or meet them at supper at ^ckerlein's after
the subscription concerts ; there they are frequently joined
by a third couple, David and his wife ; Mendelssohn gives
in honor of Moscheles, a grand musical evening; "for a
Moscheles," said he, " we take care to make good music ;
/le is not everybody."

"November i6th. — Morning rehearsal. In the even-
ing Schumann's Concert. His symphony in C major, con-
ducted in accordance, with his wish, by Mendelssohn.
Madame Schumann and her younger sister played.

" December 7th. — Mendelssohn paid us a long visit, his
first in our new abode, where the Erard, too, had been in-
stalled as an honored member of the family ; he walked
about the rooms, rubbing his hands and muttering, ' Nice,
nice,' as he was wont to do when he was pleased with any-
thing. He had once shocked a Leipzig friend whom he
met in Switzerland, by applying the word ' hllbsch' to the
grand scenery before them, but with him that word meant
more than any high-flown epithets."

Mrs. Moscheles writes ; " We are truly happy in our in-
tercourse with the Mendelssohns ; not only he, the amiable,
intimate friend, but his wife and their charming children
becoming daily more and more attached to us ; and what a
happy household it is ! The abundant means at his com-
mand are never squandered upon outward show, but judi-
ciously spent on a well-regulated, comfortable household.
Their principles and ideas are entirely in conformity with
our own ; they, like ourselves, love to welcome friends or
interesting guests cordially, but without ceremony."



CHAPTER XXIX.
1847.

Life and Society in Leipzig — Mendelssohn's Birthday — A Forgetful
Artist — Chopin's Music — Visit to London — Musical Notes — Jen-
ny Lind — ^Ieeting of Artists — Julius Rietz— Walks with Mendels-
sohn — Mendelssohn and Queen Victoria — Madame Frege — Ill-
ness and Death of Mendelssohn — Excitement in Leipzig — Fu-
neral Ceremony in Leipzig and in Berlin — Mendelssohn's corre-
spondence.

ON their return home from a Christmas visit to Ham-
burg, the Moscheles are pleasantly impressed by the
comfortable appearance of their new home. The house
which they share with the Schuncks stands on historical
ground. Gerhard's Garden was the scene of the most
disastrous episode of the famous battle of Leipzig ; it was
in the Elster, a small but rapid stream, bounding the gar-
den on one side, that Poniatowsky, in his attempt to cross
with the retreating French army, met with his end. The
spot is thus memorable as marking one of the greatest
disasters in modern warfare. In a little summer-house
erected for the purpose in the garden, are preserved many
relics of that famous day. This historical site has passed
iito the hands of Mr. Gerhard, well-known throughout
Cj-rmany as a man of high literary attainments, and as
having been a personal friend of Goethe. His translation
of Barns' poems is one of his best works.

Moscheles, speaking of his house, says: "Our friends
seem to like it as well as we do. Some object to the
small dimensions of our music-room, but I think that good
music is to be made everywhere, and I have always be-
longed to a school which aimed rather at clearness and
accent than at loud hammering — at a correct understand-
ing and truthful rendering of music rather than at surprising
effects. As for the people themselves, they load us with
polite attentions, and the whirl and rush of society hither



332



J^ECEXT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



and thither would be just the same thing as in London,
were it not that the earlier hours made the matter easier.
I need hardly tell you that the frequent interviews with the
Mendelssohns, at their house or ours, are constant sources
of enjoyment. On the last occasion Joachim, our favorite,
was there ; Felix accompanied him in his violin Concerto,
and both played the music by heart ; afterwards Felix let
us hear some ' Lieder ohne Worte,' written by his sister
Fanny. Although close imitations of his own, they are
interesting, and treated in a genuine musical spirit. He
then played us that part of the ' Elijah' where the widow
invokes the prophet s help. It has been remodelled, and I
must confess that the part of ' Elijah' acquires more dignity
and importance than it had at the performance in Birming-
ham, where I considered the whole work already perfect.
The angel trio is now really lovely. We had at our house
(besides the Mendelssohns and Madame Frege, whose

singing of his songs was indescribably beautiful), Mr. ,

with his deafening ' Fortissimos.' Happily Mendelssohn
put an end to the noise by playing the first book of his
* Lieder ohne Worte,' the manuscript of which he has given
to me. David's society and playing are never-failing sour-
ces of enjoyment. I am beginning to realize my dream of
emancipation from professional slavery ; in the Conserva-
toire 1 am engaged sixteen hours a week, at home I have
but eight private lessons to give ; what is that after the
daily steeple-chase in London .'' "

On another occasion Moscheles writes : " After dining
with Mendelssohn, I went with him to the Berlin piano-
forte maker, SchJ<nemann, who has brought here his new
invention of octaves. By a pressure of the pedal you
can add an octave to each note ; a key-board on a diminu-
tive scale can be screwed on to any piano, and enables the
player to span two octaves, but this is at the cost of tone,
and altogether the invention is yet in its infancy. Still, we
amused ourselves alternately by playing octave passages,
eight times doubled ; what good are D.'s bravuras after
this .? Soon afterwards Mendelssohn was standing by the
conductor's desk in the Gewandhaus, and I had the pleas-
ure of hearing his overture to a ' Calm sea and a prosper-
ous voyage.'



MEXDELSSO:i.V'S LAST BIRTHDA V.



333



"Mendelssohn took good care not to miss the chil-
dren's party at Moscheles' house ; our conversation was
purely on musical subjects, while the others laughed and
played with the children. I had to put before him an offer
from Chappell, who wanted to have the copyright of an
opera which he was to write. The subject proposed was
' The Tempest,' the opera was to be in the regular Italian
style, for Lumley. Not a note has been written, and yet
the work is already announced for Jenny Lind's appearance
in the coming season." Later on Mendelssohn completely
abandons the plan of setting music to the subject, and
writes to say so, to the disappointment of the Directors.

" We and the Schuncks had combined to celebrate
Mendelssohn's birthday. The proceedings were opened
with a capital comic scene between two lady's maids, acted,
in the Frankfort dialect, by Cecile and her sister. Then
came a charade on the word ' Gewandhaus.' Joachim,
adorned with a fantastic v/ig, ii la Paganini, played a hare-
brained impromptu on the G string ; the syllable ' Wand'
was represented by the Pyramus and Thisbe wall-scene
from the ' Midsummer Night's Dream ;' for ' Haus,' Char-
lotte acted a scene she had written herself, in which she is
discovered knitting a blue stocking, and soliloquizing on
the foibles of female authoresses, advising them to attend
to their domestic duties. By way of enforcing the moral,
she calls her cook — the cook was I myself, and my appear-
ance in cap and dress was the signal for a g^eneral uproar.
Mendelssohn was sitting on a large straw arm-chair which
creaked under his weight, as he rocked to and fro, and the
room echoed with his peals of laughter. The whole word
' Gewandhaus' was illustrated by a full orchestra, Mendels-
sohn and my children playing on little drums and trumpets ;
Joachim leading with a toy violin, my Felix conducting a
la Jullien. It was splendid." Such was Mendelssohn's
/asf birthday !

On the 17th of February we read : "I fully unburdened
my mind to Mendelssohn on the subject of my refusal to
play at Gade's Historical Concert, and explained to him
my reluctance to appear too frequently before the public.
I have played on two occasions lately to please the Direc-
tors, and proved I did not consider it a professional mat«



334



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



tcr, by devoting the proceeds to the Orchestral Fund,
Compositions must novv-a-days have so many inches of
Italian phrases, the pieces so many scores of octaves, in
order to please ; this is most distasteful to me, as it is tc
him. I could not, however, approve of his resolve to take
no part in the performance of ' St. Paul,' intended for
Good Friday, and I succeeded in persuading him to an
opposite view, so that he soon began the rehearsals ; but
lie, as well as I, would not play in the ' Gewandhaus,' and
told the Directors so.'

After the second rehearsal of ' St. Paul' we read :
" Mendelssohn's strictness with the large amateur chorus
was as great as his keeping together the entire force by his
pianoforte accompaniment was remarkable." Moscheles
attends all the rehearsals, and writes after the Good Friday
performance: "I have only now arrived at a perfect appre-
ciation of this glorious work. Here, as in London, 1 am
beset with a host of modern pianoforte players, all writing
Arpeggios and octave passages. These gentlemen all
belong to the same regiment, and wear the same uniform,
the onlv difference being this, that their epauleltes and
gold lace are more or less gaudy.

" We were in a pretty fix the other night at the Pupils'
Public Concert, when four young ladies were to play
Czerny's piece for eight hands : Miss F. had forgotten her
music. Mehdelssohn was up in arms at once. ' What ! '
he exclaimed, ' forget your music for a public performance,
as if it were a mere trifle! This is too bad. There sits
the public, and has to wait because you have forgotten your
music!' etc., etc. In this dilemma I fetched the tuner out
of the corner where he was waiting. ' Sit down,' said 1 ;
*busy yourself with tuning the two pianos, and don't leave
off until you see that the messenger who has been dis-
patched brings Miss F.'s music' He did as I desired, an
awkward pause was filled up, not agreeably, but to the
purpose.

" So the youthful G. has gone to Paris in order to learn
pianoforte playing in republican fashion, the more so as his
master is to be Chopin, who in his Mazurkas and ballads
bewails the annihilation of national freedom ! Seriously
speaking, he may learn a great deal that is good by listen



DEA TH OF MENDELSSOHN'S SISTER.



335



ing to Chopin's playing, but in his compositions Chopin
shows that his best ideas are but isolated ; he leaves them
fragmentary, and fails to produce a work of complete unity.
In his Sonata with the violoncello which has just been pub-
lished, I offen find passages which sound to me like some
one preluding on the piano, the player knocking at the
door of every key and clef to find if any melodious sounds
are at home."

Again : " I amused myself with David by trying over
Hiller's six ' Studies' for pianoforte and violin. They are,
even as drawing-room pieces, thoroughly piquant and
effective. We played also the * Pensees Fugitives,' by
Ernst and Heller." Moscheles composes songs for single
and four voices; among the latter " Winternacht" and
'' Maifeier,-' among the former, " Freie Kunst," '^ Die Ges-
pielen," and " Die Botschaft," which has become a great
favorite. A " Fantasia" he is writing on some Swedish
songs, sung by Jenny Lind, interests him on account of the
charming original melodies, as well as the memory of the
illustrious songstress, whose characteristics he endeavors to
depict in this composition.

The happy event, the expected birth of a firs^- g'-and-
child, called the Moscheles to London, where they had
hoped to meet Mendelssohn, who had gone to England to
superintend the performance of his "Elijah." He had,
however, hurried away to Frankfort, there to hear the sad
news ol the death of his beloved sister Fanny. This sad
event struck him a blow from which he never recovered. " He
writes to me from Baden-Baden," says Mrs. Moscheles,
" and under this heavy trial shows great fortitude and resig-
nation. It is not certain now whether the Mendelssohns
will continue their journey into Switzerland or return to
Leipzig ; although deeply afflicted, they are, thank God, all
in good health.'

Moscheles writes : *' Musical matters are in no way
changed here. Besides Lablache and Madame Castellan,
there are heaps of ' inis' and ' ettis,' with their shakes and
quavers ; but nowhere a full room. By Benedict's desire, I
have written a piece for eight hands, expressly for his con-
cert ; it went as well as it was received, and yet I feel con-
scious that the ladies would have preferred a piece upon



33^



RECE.VT MUSIC AND MUSICMNS.



operatic airs. Besides that, think of an audience wading
tiirough nine-and -forty pieces at one concert! There are
sinners who perform penance by hunger and fasting; here
one does penance by gorging oneself with endless musical
menus ; and what a sacrifice of lime ! Benedict wished to
play a duet with me at his concert, Willmers and Bennett
also at theirs ; but I refused to play in pubhc. I heard
Spohr's and Mozart's music at the Philharmonic; since my
experience of the Gewandhaus, these concerts have lost
much of their charm, but Ella's Matinee, where Joachim
played, was a real treat to me.

'* What shall I say of Jenny Lind ? I can find no words
adequate to give you any real idea of ihe impression she has
made. Independent of the fact that the language of
panegyric is exhausted, this wonderful artiste stands far too
high in my judgment to be dragged down by commonplace
complimentary phrases, such as newspaper writers so copi-
ously indulge in. This is no short-lived fit of public enthu-
siasm. Everybody wants to see and hear her, or, having
seen her, to see her and hear her again. I vvanted to know
her off the stage as well as on ; but as she lives some dis-
tance from me, I asked her in a letter to fix upon an hour
for me to call. Simple and unceremonious as she is, she
came the next day herself, bringing her answer verbaHy.
So much modesty and so much greatness united, are seldom
if ever to be met with, and although her intimate friend Men-
delssohn had given me an insight into the noble qualities of
her character, I was surprised to find them so apparent at
first acquaintance. I had to play her my ' Fantasia' on her
Swedish songs. Mendelssohn had chosen the subjects with
me ; and she said many pretty things about my characteris-
tic treatment of these national airs. We returned Iier visit
in Old Brompton, where she lives, far from the noise c{ the
capital and the arena of her brilliant performances. '

Greatly as Moscheles enjoyed his five weeks' stay in his
daughter's home and among old friends, he was anxious to
get back to Leipzig, although by virtue of his agreement he
was allowed three months' absence every year, independent
of the regular holidays (the time to be chosen to suit his
own convenience) ; he was always longing to get back to his
pupils, and carried out to a nicety his resolve lo act con-.



.'f RRA IVGEMEN T OF BEE TIIO VEiV S S YMF HON Y. 337

scientiously and laboriously in his new sphere. In JuU%
while al his post at the Conservatoire, lie makes a new edi-
tion of some classical works and most carefully compares
his arrangement of Beethoven's " Symphony in A," with one
formerly made by Hummel. We read in the diary : " Hum-
mel, who takes every possible liberty, wishes to improve
upon Beethoven's directions to the band, as well as the notes
themselves ; for instance, in the beginning of the first Alle-
gro, he gives the bass an altered rhythm.



This
passage



he writes



#4I:^fe


*£
^^^=&=


^-rt=C-^r:p=y


^ ^



-i-rr-



thus: jhs - — ^ -f — ^ *! -f—f -^Hf-



" Towards the end of the movement on the eleventh
page, he cuts out ten bars ! ! On the thirtieth page two-and-
twenty bars ! ! "

In August Moscheles writes : " Ferdinand Hiller's visit
to us was a most agreeable diversion ; for the rest, I enjoy
the quiet, and even the sameness of my life, looking for
novelty in books and periodicals. I am much interested in
the ' Girondins' and Dahlmann's excellent History of the
French Revolution.

" The editor of the local musical journal here has called
together a meeting of artists for the 13th and 14th of this
month, on which occasion the ' Weal and Woe' of art is to
be discussed. I don't expect much good will come of it,
but allow my name to figure among them.

" August 13th. — Brendel opened the meeting to day with
a speech on the diffusion of classical music ; Schumann, in
a letter, expresses his wish that the German language may
be adopted on the title-pages of music. A wise suggestion
was made that some useful guide to pianoforte teaching
should be published ; I mentioned my ' Methode des Meth-
odes.'

•' Debate between me and Herr Knorr about his edition

IS



333



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIAXS.



of ' Cramer's Studies,' in which he has substituted his owr;
fingering for that of the author. . I defended ray opinion that
it is best to give the pupil different ways of fingering, as 1
have done in my ' Studies.' "

Every artist passing through Leipzig made a point of
calUng on Moscheles, and he received them all with invari-
able kindness, but he writes : " 1 must listen to everything,
but in return it is my duty to show that one can play the
piano without hammering ; that such a thing as a pianissimo
can be obtained without a soft pedal. The pedals are aux-
iliaries ; whoever makes them of primary importance puts
in evidence the incapacity of his own fingers, and he who
writes a * Polka du Diable,' ' Valse Infernale/ ' Menuet a la
Dv'mon,' or by way of contrast, ' Moonshine Elegies,' and
' ^olian Harp Sonatas,' seeks to attract by the title, not by
original ideas. As for L.'s ' Spring is coming,' I would call
it ' Autumn has come/ for the composition is as withered as
autumn leaves."

On the 17th of September the Mendelssohn family re-
turn home from Switzerland. " In mind dear Felix is the
same as ever, but physically he seems altered ; he is aged,
weakened, and his walk is less elastic than before, but to
see him at the piano, or hear him talk about art and art-
ists, he is all life and fire. To his great joy his friend Ju-
lius Rietz is just entering upon his duties as Kapellmeister
in Leipzig. Of him he says : " Here is another earnest-
minded musician, producing much that is good, and capa-
ble of guiding the performances of others to the highest
pitch of perfection ; his conducting must lead to great
things at the Gewandhaus Concerts, and what fine music
we shall have among ourselves ! Rietz is a capital violon-
cello player, we shall have a glorious winter.' He then fixed
on an evening when Rietz and I were to come to his house
for music. My new piece for eight hands, written for Ben-
edict's Concert, gave rise to an animated discussion ; it
was to bear the title of ' Jadis et Aujourd'hui ;' Mendels-
sohn opposed this, and 1 affirmed ' that the introductory
fugues were meant to illustrate the good old times, the
lighter movements the music of our own day.' 'But why
so?' argued Mendelssohn; 'are not interesting fugues
written now-a-days ? Surely our time produces still some



WALK'S WITH MEXDELSSOHX. 33Q

good things.' ' But the fashionable taste is a vitiated one,'
] replied, ' people will only listen to light music and easy
rhythms.' ' Yes, they will,' Mendelssohn broke in, eagerly ;
' but they shall not. Don't you and I live ? Don't we in-
tend to write good music ? We will prove that our time
is capable of good ; so please to give up this title.' This
request was not to be withstood, and therefore for 'Jadis
et Aujourd'hui,' we substituted ' Les Contrastes,' with
which my friend declared he was satisfied."

We read again : " October 3d. — After the Mendelssohn s
had dined with us, Felix and I amused ourselves at the pi-
ano with fugues and gigues by Bach ; he then gave us an
admirable imitation of the town musicians at Frankfort,
whose Polkas he had been condemned to listen to hun-
dreds of times.

" October 5th. — Delightful afternoon at Mendelssohn's,
and had much friendly talk about art-matters. He played
me his last quartet, all four movements in F minor ; the
passionate character of the whole, and the mournful key,
seem to me an expression of his deeply agitated state of
mind ; he is still suffering and in sorrow for the loss of his
sister. He also showed me some of her manuscript Lieder
— everything deeply felt, but not always original.

" October 7th. Mendelssohn came to take me out for
a walk, although it rained ; we strolled along in the Rosen-
thal, having such an interesting conversation that the
hours flew unheeded by.

" October 8th. — Examination at the Conservatoire.
Mendelssohn wrote on a slate, with a piece of chalk, a
thorough bass exercise, to test the pupils ; while they
worked it out, he made some charming pen-and-ink sketch-
es. What a sleepless genius ! .... In the afternoon and
evening we were at his house. He played with Rietz, his
D major Sonata with Cello, and the two by Beethoven, op.
102 ; with me, my ' Sonate Symphonique ; ' Emily and I
played ' Les Contrastes.'

" On the 9th of October Mendelssohn came to see us ;
we watched him as he walked slowly and languidly through
the garden on his way to our house. My wife felt much
concerned, and in answer to her inquiry after his health, he
replied, ' How am I? Rather shady' (Grau in grau) ! She



340 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

assured him that a walk and the fine weather would do him
good, so we — Charlotte, I, and our Felix — went to the
Rosenthal, and certainly during our strolls he became so
fresh and animated that we forgot his previous words.
Charlotte said, 'You have never told us all about your last
stav in London,' and this remark elicited from him much
about our common friends that interested us. Then he
gave us an account of his visit to the Queen. She had re-
ceived him very graciously, and he was much pleased with
her rendering of some of his songs, which he had accom-
panied ; he had also played to the Queen and the Prince.
She must have been pleased, for, when he rose to depart,
she thanked him, and said, ' You have given me so much
pleasure, now what can 1 do to give you pleasure ?' Men-
delssohn deprecating, she insisted ; so he candidly admitted
that he had a wish that only her Majesty could fulfil. He,
himself the head of a household, felt mightily interested in
the Queen's domestic arrangements ; in short, might he see
th.^ Royal children in their Royal nurseries? The Queen
at once entered into the spirit of his request, and in her
most winning way conducted him herself through the nur-
series, all the while comparing notes with him on the home-
ly subjects that had a special attraction for both.

"Talking of Cecile's birthday, he told us of a mantle
he had bought her for a present ; he had a second and
priceless gift in store for her, for when he and Klingemann
had made a tour of Scotland together, they both joined
in keeping a diary, Klingemann jotting down their ad-
ventures in verse, Mendelssohn illustrating them. These
fugitive pages, arranged and bound, were to be presented
to his wife, but alas ! he had already been attacked with
deadlv illness before the next day dawned.

"We parted about one o'clock in the most cheerful
mood. That very afternoon, however, Felix was taken very
ill in Frau Frege's house ; he had gone thither to persuade
her to sing in the next performance of his ' Elijah.' ' She
is afraid of appearing in public,' Mendelssohn had said
some days before, ' and of not being in good voice ; but no
one can sing at all like her ; I must go and encourage
her."

We are indebted to Frau Frege for the following ac-



MENDELSSOHN'S LA ST VISIT TO FRA U FREGE.



341



count of what occurred in her house on the 9th of October :
*' These were his words when he entered the room, ' I come
to-day, and intend coming every day, until you give me
your consent, and T now bring with me again the aUered
pieces (of the " Elijah") ; but I really feel miserable, so
much so that lately I actually cried over my Trio. To-day,
however, before we talk of" Elijah," you must help me to
put together a book of songs ; the Hiirtels are pressing me
so to publish it.' He brought the book. Op. 71, and as a
seventh Lied, the old German Spring Song, ' Der triibe
Winter ist vorbei,' which he had composed in the summer
of this year, but had not written out until the 7th of Octo-
ber. '* I knew pretty well," said Frau Frege, " how he would
wish the songs to follow, and arranged them in order, one
by one, upon the piano. After I had sung the first, he was
very much moved, and asked for it again, adding, * That
was a somewhat serious birthday present for Schleinitz on
the ist of October, but it is quite in accordance with my
state of mind, and 1 can't tell you how melancholy Fanny's
still unchanged rooms in Berlin made me. But I have in-
deed so much to be thankful to God for — Cecik is so well,
and little Felix, too' (his youngest son, who was often out
of health). He then made me repeat all the Lieder sever-
al times, and I still clung to my opinion that the ' Spring
Song' was a little out of place in the book. He then said,
' Be it so ; the whole book is serious, and serious it must go
into the world.' Although he looked very pale, I had to
sing him the first song for the third time over, and he thank-
ed me most kindly and amiably. He continued : ' If you
are not tired, let us try the last quartet out of the ' Eli-
jah.' I left the room to order lamps, and on my return
found him in the next room on the sofa ; his hands, he said
svere cold and stiff, and it would be better and wiser to take
a turn out of doors, he really felt too ill to make music. I
wanted to send for a carriage, but he would not allow me,
and after I had given him a saline draught, he left about
5.30. When he got into the air, he felt it would be better to
go home instantly ; once at home, he sat down in the cor-
ner of the sofa, where C'cile found him at 7 o'clock; his
hands were cold and stiff as before. On the following day
he suffered from such violent pain in the head, that leeches



342



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



were applied ; the doctor thought the digestive organs were
attacked, and only at a later period pronounced the dis-
ease to be the result of an overwrought nervous system.
Ever smce Fanny's death I had been struck with his pale-
ness when he conducted or played ; everything seemed to
affect him more intensely than before."

The news of Mendelssohn's illness created quite a panic
in Leipzig, but as he seemed so rapidly to recover, all fears
wero for a time allayed. " On the 15th October," we quote
horn the diary, '' i had to tell Felix a great deal about Hil-
ler s new opera ' Conradin, der letzte Hohenstaufe' the fa-
vorable reception of which delighted him heartily. David,
Benedict, and I had gone over to Dresden to hear it ; Wag-
ner and richatschek took the leading parts. The perform-
ance was a remarkable one, the music, I thought, full of
dignity and passion."

In the course of a few days Mendelsshon so far recov-
ered that his friends find him not only cheerful, but actu-
ally making his plans for conducting his " Elijah" in Vien-
na. To Madame Frege, who visited him, he said : ' Well,
i must have given you a pretty fright the other day — a
cheertui sight I must have been 1 " On the 28th he felt so
much stronger that he took a walk with C.'cile, and felt in-
chned to go out again. At her persuasion, however, he
abandoned the idea ; but alas I shortly afterwards he sud-
denly broke down. It was declared to be an attack of apo-
plexy. The anxiety of all Leipzig cannot be described.
Once more he seems to rally, but only to relapse into a
state of feverish excitement ; his mind wanders, and he
talks in English. On the 3d of November, at half-pa.st
two in the afternoon, a third attack supervenes and deprives
him of all consciousness.

The bulletin was read again and again by anxioiis
crowds. Thus the 4th of November dawned. We give
Moscheles' own words, just as he wrote them in Mendels-
sohn's house on the morning of the fatal day. " Nature !
demandest thou thy rights? Angels above, in heaver.Iy
spheres, do ye claim your brother, whom ye regard as your
own, as one too high for intercourse with us ordinary n»oi-
tals ? We still possess him, we still cling to him ; we h.-pe
by Gods grace, to keep still longer among us one who "\a.«i



MENDELSSOHN'S DEA TH.



343



ever shone upon us, a pattern of all that is noble and beau-
tiful, the glory of our century ! To Thee, O Creator, it is
known why Thou hast lodged those treasures of heart and
soul in so frail a tenement, that now threatens to dissolve !
Can our prayers win from Thee the life of our brother ?
What a glorious work hast Thou accomplished in him I
Thou hast shown us how high he may soar heavenwards,
how near he may approach Thee ! Oh ! suffer him to en-
joy his earthly reward — the blessings of a husband and
father, the ties of friendship, the homage of the world ! " . .

"Noon. — Drs. Hammer, Hofrath Clarus. the surgeon,
Walther, all take their turn by the bedside \ Schleinitz
writes out a bulletin which gives no hope. Dr. Frege and
his wife, David, Rietz, Schleinitz, my wife, and I, are wait-
ing anxiously near the sick room. The doctors say that if
no fresh attack on the nerves or lungs supervenes the appa-
rent calm may lead to a happy turn, even to ultimate re-
covery. This calm, however, was in reality only the utter
prostration of all physical power.

"Evening. — From two o'clock in the afternoon, at the
hour when another paralytic stroke was dreaded, he gradu-
ally began to sink ; he lay perfectly quiet, breathing heavily.
In the evening we were all by turns assembled around his
bed, contemplating the peaceful, seraphic expression on his
countenance. The memory of that scene sunk deeply into
our hearts, Cucile bore up with fortitude under the crush-
ing weight of her sorrow ; she never wavered, never betrayed
her struggle by a word. The children had been sent to bed
at nine o'clock. Paul Mendelssohn stood, transfixed with
grief, at the bedside of his dying brother. Madame Dirich-
let and the Schuncks were expected in vain. Dr. Hiirtel had
travelled to Berlin to fetch them and Dr. Schonlein, but
they could not arrive in time to witness the closing scene.

" From nine o'clock in the evening we expected every
moment would be the last ; a light seemed to hover over his
features, but the struggle for life became feebler and fainter.
Cccile, in floods of tears, kneeled at his pillow ; Paul Men-
delssohn, David, Schleinitz, and I, in deep and silent prayer,
surrounded the deathbed. As his breathing gradually be-
came slower and slower, my mind 'involuntarily recurred to
Beethoven's Funeral March, * Sulla Morte d'un' Eroe,' to



344 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

that passage where he seems to depict the hero as he lie*
breathing his last, the sands of life gradually running out.




t » f » f f _N



rEi^^-^^






The suppressed sobs of the bystanders, and my own hot
tears, recalled nie to the dread reality.

'• At twenty four minutes past nine he expired with a deep
sigh. The doctor persuaded the widowed Cecile to leave
the room. I knelt down at the bedside, my prayers followed
heavenwards the soul of the departed, and I pressed one
last kiss on that noble forehead before it grew cold in the
damp dew of death. For several hours we bewailed together
our irreparable loss ; then each one withdrew, to sorrow in
silence.

" What poor consolations are funeral honors, however
grand and impressive, how miserably inadequate as expres-
sions of grief for the loss of my beloved friend, whose mem-
ory will be sacred to me for the rest of my days."

All Leipzig mourned ; the Gewandhaus on this 4th No-
vember did not give its usual concert ; the soul of music
seemed to have fled ! who would have cared for concerts at
such a time.'' Moscheles, during the next few days, meets
with bis friends to consult about the funeral, and scores for
the sad occasion Mendelssohn's " Lied ohne Worte " in E
minor. The body was soon afterwards carried to Berlin ; a
service takes place on the 7th November, in the Pauliner
Church.

The Berlin Siaatszeifung gives the following account of
the funeral in Leipzig : " On the 6th November Mendels-
sohn's body was brought to the Pauliner (University)
Church, preced d by a band of wind instruments, playing
Jieethoven's 'Funeral March.' The procession consisted
of the members of the Gewandhaus orchestra and the
pupils of the Conservatoire ; the pall-bearers were Mos-
cheles, David, Hauptmann, and Gade. The professors of
the Conservatoire, with Mendelssohn's brother as chief



MENDELSSOHN'S FUNERAL.



345



mourner, and several guilds and societies from Leipzig and
Dresden, followed the coffin. After the pastor's funeral
oration in the church, an organ prelude and chorales out
of ^ St. Paul ' and Bach's ' Passion' were played by the
orchestra, under Gade's and David's direction. During
the service the coffin remained open ; the painters, Bende-
mann, H bner, and Richard, of Dresden, made drawings
of the great man with the wreath of laurel upon his brow.
At ten o'clock at night the coffin was closed and carried
by the pu'ils of the Conservatoire to the station of the
Berlin Railway. A torchlight procession of more than a
thousand persons followed the funeral train through the
crowded streets of Leipzig, and similar honors accompanied
with funeral music, were paid to the dead at Cothen, Des-
sau, and other towns on the road to Berlin, which was
reached between seven and eight o'clock in the morning.
There the coffin, adorned with ivy leaves and a large wreath
of laurel, was carried on a hearse drawn by six horses
draped in black, to the churchyard of the Holy Trinity.
Thousands of people followed the bier, and Beethoven's
' Funeral March' was again played. Two clergymen and
other friends of the deceased pronounced orations at the
grave, and a chorus, consisting of six hundred voices, sang
a hymn by Groeber, 'Christ and the Resurrection.' It is
impossible to describe the mournful scene; the men threw
earth, and the women and children flowers, on the coffin
when it was finally lowered into the grave. Mendelssohn
sleeps near that beloved sister whose death so fatally im-
pressed him."

The King of Prussia had sent Mendelssohn a letter, in
appreciation of the '• Elijah," the first performance of which
he had heard in Berlin ; unfortunately, however, this letter
reached Leipzig a day after the death of the great master.
At the Gewandhaus Concert, on the nth November, the
performance was as follows : —

First part : Overture to St. Paul. Motet, " Lord, now
lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace ;" " Vergangen
ist der lichte Tag," beautifully and feelingly sung by Frau
Frege. Overture to '' Melusine."

Second Part : Beethoven's " Eroica."

The dreary sense of isolation, now that Moscheles had



34^



EECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



forever lost his art-colleague, made the idea of residence in
Leip::ig almost intolerable to Mrs. Moscheles ; the object
of all ambition seemed annihilated ; Moscheles, however,
argued otherwise : " He invited me lo take part in an in-
stitution that was so dear to him ; to have labored there
with him would have been a daily joy and satisfaction, to
work on there without him is my duty, which 1 regard as a
sacred trust committed by him to my keeping. I must
now work for us both."

Bent on carrying out this resolution, Mq§,cheles once
more resumes his classes at the Conservatoire on Monday
the 7th of November, and derives from the conscientious
performance of his duties some comfort in his deep sorrow.
" In spirit, though not in presence, Mendelssohn is with us
throughout the dreary winter. The constant visits to
Cccile and the dear children, the reading over of his beau-
tiful letters to us both, the perusal of his music, from the
' Kinderst:cke' that Clara learns, to the duets that I play
with Serena, and his great pianoforte works which I study
myself — such are the consolations which he has bequeathed
to his sorrowing friends.''

The King of Saxony is present at a performance of
the '' Walpurgisnacht" in the Gewandhaus ; the fragments
of the " Loreley" are also given. Many sketches of Men-
delssohn's life appear, but none represent him so faithfully
as his own letters. In these we find reflected the noble
mind of the man, and his unswerving devotion to all those
that he loved. He regarded art as a gift from heaven, as
a glorious possession which he must cultivate and guard,
and while so many of his contemporaries wrote for the
world and the prevailing taste and fashion of the public, he
strove, singly and solely, to clothe his poetical and majestic
thoughts in the noblest and loveliest harmonies. He, too,
had his detractors — who has not ? But none could re-
proach him with ever having been unfaithful to his art-
convictions.



CHAPTER XXX.
1848— 1849.

Commemorations of Mendelssohn — Concert in aid of a Pension Fund
— Performance of the " Elijah " — Political Agitation — Prague and
Vienna — Nestroy the Actor in Leipzig — Change in Musical Taste
— The Volunteer Guards — Anniversary of Mendelssohn's Death —
A Mendelssohn Foundation — Mark of Royal Favor — Schumann
—Mendelssohn's " Athalie " — Madame Dulcken — Lindky — Liszt's
Playing — Visit to Prague — Musical Events.

IT would be no exaggeration to say that in Germany and
England, if not throughout Europe, Mendelssohn's
death was regarded as a public calamity. In Leipzig, the
scene of so many of his great achievements, there were fa-
mous artists still left to carry on the work of the Conserva-
toire. There remained such men as Hauptmann, David,
Rietz, Cossmann, and Joachim. The mere mention of these
names will suffice to show that art, so far from being para-
lyzed, was sure to develop all its best energies under the
care and skill of men of European eminence. Friedrich
Schneider, Besker, Reinecke, Griepenkerl, and others, join-
ed in upholding the reputation of Leipzig as a musical cen-
tre, and, to crown all, Robert and Clara Schumann gave an
historical eclat and interest to the Gewandhaus Concerts of
the winter of 1848. '• And yet," says Moscheles in one of
his letters, " we live daily in the memory of Mendelssohn.
We are constantly with his dear children, and Ct cile has
the courage to be present at all the performances where her
husband's works are executed, and to listen to such deeply
touching compositions as the last quartet in F minor, and
the ' Nachllied,' sung as only Frau Frege can sing it. On
the 3d February, his birth-day, the 'Elijah' was given for
the first time here. I have attended all the rehearsals, and
Emily and Serena sang in the chorus. A medallion exe-
cuted for this special occasion by the sculptor Knaur, had
been fixed in its place over the orchestra. Behr iang the



348



RECE^KT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



part of the Prophet with earnestness and energy ; Frau
Frege, with her clear intonation and fine expression, ren-
dered the music of the widow in her own pure and expressive
style, and Fraulein Schloss was an excellent contralto.
Gade's conducting, generally speaking, was painstaking and
effective, except in certain ' Tempi,' which Mendelssohn had
taken differently in Birmingham, where the organ had fre-
quently enhanced the orchestral effects. The concert, given
for the benefit of the ' Pension Fund,' was, strange to say,
only two-thirds full, and the silence with which the work
was received, left it doubtful whether the audience had been
duly impressed. Certainly some papers headed what was
actually an opposition. We were all indignant at so equiv'
ocal a reception, and even my Felix was not to be restrain-
ed from writing on the subject to the papers, and protesting
against it.

. . . . " Cecile asked me yesterday to revise the orches-
tral parts of Felix's A major Symphony, for it may possibly
be given at the last Gewandhaus Concert. I have been to
the theatre to hear a new opera, which was a complete fail-
ure, the music so bad and commonplace that it actually dis-
turbed me in a nap. David, the picture of misery, frequent-
ly looked up to me from the orchestra for a sympathetic
glance. I pitied him."

The political storm which had so suddenly burst in Paris,
the Revolution which cost Louis Philippe his throne, found
an echo in several parts of Germany. That Moscheles was
no passive spectator of these events, we gather from many
passages in his diary: . . . ."Robert Blum, a Radical, is
elected a member of the German Parliament, and gladly ac-
cepts Schleswig Holstein is in a most excited state.

God forbid there should be a war ! I read the sad accounts
the newspapers give of petitions, barricades, and tri-colored
flags

" It was odd that I should find in the Wiener Zeitung an
article, taking the King of Prussia to task for refusing civil
liberties until he conceded them over the dead bodies of the
citizens. And this from Austria ! What a state of things
we have come to ! Do you recollect seeing in the Ballet
that quaint old-fashioned gentleman who suddenly turns
round and displays a figure all youth and bloom — Austria



TROUBLED TIMES.



349



seems to me as double-sided as that figure !. . . . The States
appear to me to be affected with cancer, while a consultation
of surgeons is held at Frankfort. Artificial arms, legs, eyes,
and noses are being substituted for the decayed members
of the mutilated State-bodv, and our age unhappily is des-
tined to look on at these operations ; it is a hard trial, but
God wills it so ! I am. not carried away by the hue and
cry for liberty. I should like a monarchical 'juste milieu,'
without coming under Nicholas' scourge or seeing my neigh-
bors writhing under it. And my old Vienna, with her tri-
umph won over the corpses of her citizens ! My light-
hearted, musical Vienna ! it costs me much more of an effort
to realize her in a state of fermentation than Berlin, where
the tragedy is deepening, and becoming more and more ter-
rible. Heaven preserve us from a repetition of the Reign
of Terror ! On Friday evening we and all our friends heard
the debates at the patriotic meeting : Laube, who had just
arrived from Vienna, spoke well on the state of things in
Austria ; Flathe proposed emigration as the only remedy
for a distressed population ; Zestermann defended his fellow-
citizens, the people of Zittau, whose patriotism had been
suspected. All the discussions were carried on amid clouds
of tobacco, rather bad for the ladies, but better anyhow than
the smoke of gunpowder." "In the midst of this crisis,"
Mrs. Moscheles writes, "art and professional avocations are
a real comfort, and my husband can be serenely happy in
the midst of all the turmoil round him," " Whenever i play,
1 forget everything," adds Moscheles., " but I certainly can-
not now-a-days concentrate my thoughts enough for compos-
ing." On a visit to some friends at LiUzschena, he moral-
izes thus : " How beautiful the world is, after all ; this misery
will pass, and liberty will dawn upon us I May we soon see
her make her entrance in triumphal procession, as we have
seen kings and ministers make their entrance, and — their
exit."

Frau Frege, assisted by Moscheles and several artists,
gives a very successful concert for the benefit of impover-
ished artisans. A private gallery of pictures is opened to
the public for the same charitable purpose, and the Mos-
cheles try to raise a fund for the members of the orchestra,
who have been deprived of their pay owing to the troubled



350



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



state of the times. Again we read of Moscheles' raptures
with the Ninth Symphony: "This work revealed new beau-
ties to me, and this 1 owe to certain effects and ' nuances'
which with all my hearty exertions I could not succeed in
bringing out with a London orchestra. The work itself
stands relatively to other Symphonies like the Cathedral
of Cologne to other churches. Rietz conducted in true
musicianly style."

The 30th of May, Moscheles' birthday, evokes the fol-
lowing letter : " Your wishes were doubly welcome to me,
at a time when State ties threaten to dissolve, and family
ties are loosened by those dreadful politics. Nothing was
omitted in my family circle to make me forget the gloom
of the present time; accordingly, I allowed myself patiently
to be led blindfold by the children to the birthday table.
What gave me the greatest delight was a water-color draw-
ing of Mendelssohn's study, painted on the spot by my
Felix, exactly as it was left at the time of his death — every
detail, even to the most insignificant, faithfully represented.
C-ci!e presented me with an apparatus for striking a light
(Z aidmaschine), which her husband had used; a precious
souvenir, like everything that comes from him."

Nestroy, the . famous comic actor from Vienna, comes
upon the gloomy days of Leipzig, with his '' Freiheit in
KrJ.hwinkel," exactly at the right time, to inspirit every
one. Moscheles says : " None but a Nestroy could parody
government reform and liberty without becoming weari-
some or giving offence. Formerly this piece would have
given him free admission to the ' Spielberg' (the State-
prison); now he can actually introduce Metternich as a
comic figure, without any fear of the Censor or police."

At a concert for the destitute artisans, Moscheles plays
his E major Concerto, and says : " Germany has my good
wishes for such unity as was displayed by the orchestra under
Rietz and David. I thank God that I am not now obliged
to begin to earn my bread by my art ; I should certainly

have to turn rope-dancer Formes as ' Leporello' the

other night was very humorous and powerful, but I was
annoyed at his exclaiming in the churchyard scene, 'This
sounds like trombones.' The public liked it, but the publiq
when applauding that kind of thing, is like a will-o'-the-



REFORMATION SYMPHONY.



351



wisp — it leads artists astray. Rietz took several of the
* Tempi' too slowly, which surprised me in a modern Kap-
ellmeister."

There are signs of Leipzig becoming infected with 1 evo-
lution, and as an extra precaution, it is thought necessary
to organize a volunteer guard, in which Moscheles is en-
rolled as a member. He used, however, to joke about his
want of taste for soldiering, and having one night mounted
guard with Brassin (the bass singer in the theatre), he told
his family when he came home that he had been very com-
fortable, having had a long conversation with his brother-
sentinel about *' Don Juan ;" so that the two amateur sol-
diers managed to kill time very pleasantly.

"The unpublished music left by Mendelssohn is in the
hands of Schleinitz, who is also guardian of the children.
One of these works, the * Reformation Symphony,' was
yesterday rehearsed privately. It is in the true ecclesiasti-
cal style, and pleased me, however much Felix himself
found fault with it. He was as much at home in the sacred
style as in* the romantic forms of his Lieder, or the fairy
music of hobgoblins and dancing elves."

Moscheles mentions in affecting language the commem-
orative festival at the Conservatoire, on the anniversary of
the day of Mendelssohn's death. " Only the professors
and their wives were invited, and everybody was dressed
in mourning. After preliminary music, one of the Direct-
ors, standing before Mendelssohn's bust, made a speech to
the pupils, exhorting them to emulate their great model, the
founder of the Institution. The ceremony was very im-
posing, and we were particularly struck with one of the last
songs of Mendelssohn, which Frau Frege gave with exquis-
ite pathos. Joachim led the F minor Quartet admirably,
and with the correct conception of the work."

Outside the art-world, the political horizon grows darker
and darker. Moscheles writes : " All the reforms which the
new time is to bring us seem still unripe, and I wish we
could put them upon straw, as we do fruit to ripen. Per-
haps such a process might obviate the necessity of
deluging the soil with human blood ; but then eternal peace
would be like eternal spring ; neither is to be found."

On the 17th December we read: "Unfortunately, in



352 ^^ <^^-^' ^' '^^ ^^^^ ^ ^^ '^^^ ^^ U SI CI A A'S.

spite of my ten days' exertions and a great deal of begging;
1 did not succeed in securing for the blind singer, Miss A.
Z., a full room at her Matinee to-day. My warmth on the
subject had failed to melt the iceberg which blocked the
entrance to the purses of the Leipzigers. Rietz accompa-
nied, Joachim played Bach's 'Chaconne' admirably, and
Pelz the pianist appeared for the first time, with an Andante,
all embroidery. The poor singer gave her Swiss melodies
and some other pieces with much feeling, but after all she
only realized twenty-six thalers, twelve of which went to the
expenses."

In a letter of the 2d of January, 1849, we read : " There
is one piece of news worth telling, as a matter of importance
for Leipzig. I allude to the death of an old j^troness of
art. She had reached her fiftieth year, having flourished in
the days of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, and was received
on the Continent with honor and distinction. Occasionally
she dealt with novelties, and retailed gossip, but her con-
versation was often instructive. She never travelled with
hard cash, but only with notes. Her name was the Zetp-
ziger Allgef7ieine Zeitung f \r Musik, In the farewxU number,
the editor says that art-productivity is now in such a stag-
nant state tha<" material is wanting for a musical journal.
Schleinitz publishes the statutes for a Mendelssohn Insti-
tute, the aim of which is to co-operate with the Conserva-
toire in assisting art-students, and, by scholarships and other
benevolent means, to perpetuate the memory of Mendels-
sohn. Tlie King has undertaken to act as patron and pro-
tector ; and 1 am to be a joint director of the new institute.
His Majesty has recently presented me with a gold snuff-
box, accompanied by a letter acknowledging my dedication
of the ' Contrastes ;' but I don't talk about this, or it will

go straight into the newspapers On a second hearing

of Schumann's Symphony in C, I feel more and more that
he follows boldly in Beethoven's footsteps, reminding me of
him in daring, but scarcely in tenderness. I think his D
minor Trio a composition of the most passionate character ;
it is based less on intensity of ideas than on his power of
moving in the most varied keys. The Scherzo is the most
piquant movement, the Adagio very gloomy.

' The Schumanns, Frau SchrCder, and Frau Frege last



MENDELSSOHN'S " A THALIE."



353



night gave us lovely music, when of a sudden we heard l
serenade from the garden ; this was a chorus of men's voices ;
the strangers might well appreciate the compliment, for it
rained heavily. The one great drawback 1 feel in Schumann's
society is his extreme reticence ; try as I will, I cannot in-
veigle him into a conversation upon art.

" Paul Mendelssohn asked me, in the name of his sister-
in-law, to join Hauptmann, David, and Rietz in editing his
brother's posthumous works, a service which I shall render
with affection and reverence. The very next evening some
movements of the posthumous quartet were tried at David's.
One in F minor is, I think, the most valuable ; the Quintet
in B major, too, is a great work."

3Iendelssohn's " Adialie " is performed, and Edward
Devrient recited, between the separate numbers, some lines
of his own, written as connecting links to the dramatic
scenes. "Felix, when in London, had played me the whole
of the music of ' Athalie,' trumpeting — '■ tuting,' as he called
it — every wind-instrument, especially in the 'March of the
Priests,' so that I well remembered the most startling mod-
ulations. Even then the work pleased me ; now, after at-
tending the performance and rehearsals, I glory in it. In
certain passages I was deeply affected, what must he have
felt when he wrote it ? But, strange to say, the Leipzig
public remained cold, as at the ' Elijah ' performance."

Family matters take Moscheles for a fortnight to Lon-
don. The first letter to his wife begins in the following way :

" I remain your faithful and loving husband, I. Mos-
cheles. I begin with the end, just as formerly I began my
C major Concerto with the finale cadence, because in both
cases my leading idea is expressed ;



^^



^ — ^^



:22:






" Now then about matters here. I was offered an en-
gagement at Exeter Hall immediately on my arrival, but with
a gratification bordering on self-complacency, I declared I
did net wish any more to play in public. Every one receives
me with open arms



354 ^^ ^^^^ ^ ^ ^^^^ ^ -^^ ^^ U SI CI A NS,

*' The musicians and their publishers are still absorbed
in their business ; I met a congress of them at Chappell's.
Osborne immediately claimed me for his new pianoforte
duet in F flat minor ; I ventured to attack it, six flats and all,
and I think my friend was greatly pleased. Then Dulcken
appeared, and told me that his concert on the 20th (he forgot
that his wife gave it) would be crowded even if the Hanover
Square Rooms were three times the size. 'Why not give it
in Exeter Hall?' I asked. 'Because Jenny Lind, whose
intimacy with my wife dates from Stockholm days, kindly
consents to sing for us, and does not like Exeter Hall.'
Subsequently, when I visited Madame Dulcken, she asked
me to play a duet with her in the same concert, but for the
reasons known to you, 1 refused.

" Beethoven's Mass in C was a rare treat, and so was
Mendelssohn's ' Hymn of Praise.' Costa wields his baton
more in Italian than German style, but he kept the 700 per-
formers admirably together, although the ' Tempi ' were not
always what I am used to. My neighbor, Mr. Gladstone,
asked me several musical questions. When the room was
almost empty, I saw the veteran Lindley still sitting by his
violoncello. This reminded me of his having been upset in
a coach, when he quiedy sat down in an open field to see if

his instrument had received any injury This is a long

letter. You shall soon hear more by word of mouth."

Moscheles, soon after his return to Leipzig, writes :
" Ernst gave a Matin je which, I grieve to say, was poorly
attended. He looks wretchedly ill, but played with great

energy and passionate feeling We had a novelty in

F. Hiller's Symphony in E major, with the motto : ' Es muss
doch Fr::hling werden,' a work in grand style, with excellent
points in it. I recognize in all Hiller's music a composer
aiming at what is true and beautiful. Liszt played part of a
concerto by Henselt, and his Don Juan Fantasia, with all
his gigantic power. The tossing about of his hands, which
he seems to think a mark of inspiration, I still regard as an
eccentricity, although it is no doubt remarkable that he ac-
complishes the most perilous jumps with scarcely a single
mishap.

" 'Christus,' the fragment left behind by Mendelssohn, is
now being studied by our pupils ; it consists of five or six oho-



VISIT TO PRAGUE.



355



ruses, recitatives, a trio of a dignified kind sung by the tliree
magi, to the words, ' Say, where is He that is born King of
Judah ? ' a chorus, ' Daughters of Zion,' and another of the
people, ' Crucify Him ' — these are masterpieces, and
although fragmentary in character are sure to become fa-
mous The time of publication is not yet fixed on.

" Yesterday, for the first time, we saw Halevy's * Thai
von Andorra ' — music of a genuine dramatic character,
which has more flow of melody than his other operas. The
subject is cleverly worked up and very expressive. It
was so finely given, that the entire body of performers was
called forward. I read Berlioz' ' Feuilleton' upon Meyer-
beer's ' Prophete.' The libretto is certainly frightful, and
contains sensational scenes enough to make one shudder :
the music, however, is said to be worthy of Meyerbeer, and
I look forward to hearing another work from the pen of my
old friend. Lortzing's opera ' Roland's Knappen,' reminds
me of the busy bee which sucks its honey out of many flow-
ers."

The winter and spring of this year were saddened by
the war in Holstein, and the revolution in Dresden. " A
Schroder-Devrient, a Richard Wagner, haranguing the
Dresden people ! What can it lead to ? Alas ! we were
soon able to answer that question when the barricades
were raised in Leipzig, and one of the worthiest citizens,
and our excellent friend, was shot dead by a ruffian."

When the storms in the political atmosphere are calmed
down, Moscheles takes his children to Prague. "I will
show them," he writes, " ihe birthplace and the house their
father was born in, the graves of my own parents, the place
on the ' Ring,' where I delighted, as an urchin, to hold the
music for the bandsmen, the house of Dionys Weber, nay,
the actual corner stone on which I smashed the wine-bot-
tle which I was commissioned by him to carr}^ to his friend,
the worthy prelate. Lastly, I want the children to make
acquaintance with their relatives." " Returning to Leip-
zig," he says, " I found Spohr — he played in Voigt's house,
that place of rendezvous for good musicians, his Quartet in
C major and Double Quartet in G minor, both from the
proof sheets, the composition as interesting as ever, but
Spohr unchanged ; his playing is still noble and fresh. In



356 ^^ ^^^ ^ ^ ^^^^ ^ ^^ ^ u SIC I A NS.

the Conservatoire we gave him an ovation, and his bust
was covered with garlands ; he played several things to a
delighted audience, and our pupils gave him a serenade
afterwards. A short visit from Cecile Mendelssohn, on
her way through Leipzig, revived the memory of old days ;
I had to play to her the march from ' Athalie,' his bust
looked down on us, she said but little, but was full of grati-
tude and tenderness."

Mrs. Moscheles had been summoned to London, where
she receives the following letter :

" Leipzig, I2th July.

" Your letter found me at the Conservatoire, it put me
into such good humor that from that moment I was all for-
bearance with false notes and bad fingering In to-
day's Times I read of the triumph of our old, still youthful
friend, Henriette Sontag ; I hope you will meet her. I have
to set to music a song written by our Legationsrath, the
* Schmetterling and Liebchen.' The text is poetical, and
touches a sympathetic chord, whether it deserves to be a
pendent for the ' Botschaft' you will see. I shall soon join
you in London."

Shortly afterwards Moscheles writes from London : " I
am determined to hear the ' Prophet;" all the good places
are taken, so 1 must put up with two bad ones, better them
than none at all ... . Madame Viardot is not only an ad-
mirable Fides, but she has, as the French say, ' crue le
rule ; ' she is Kapellmeister, Regisseur, in one word, the
soul of the opera, which owes one-half of its success to her.
There are fine things in the work, but after one hearing it
does not appear to me to come up to the ' Huguenots.'
Besides, one listens at times with only one ear ; in the aw-
ful church scene, in which Viardot is inimitable, the situa-
tion is absolutely absorbing. The skating scene made us
envious, sitting as ws were in oppressive heat."

After a month's stay at Treport, the Moscheles visit
Rouen and Paris. From the latter place Moscheles writes :
" 1 was much interested in seeing Beaumarchais' ' Marriage
de Figaro ' — the original of the subject which inspired Mo-



DEA Til OF CHOPIN



Z':>7



zart with his immortal music. The performance was, as
formerly, slightly clashed with some interpolated music ;
instead of the beautiful romance of the Page there was a
sentimental vaudeville song, at the wedding a trivial
march, anything but Spanish, but as entr'acte we had the
genuine Mozart Romance. Roger had re-appeared in the
' Favorita ; ' he is an admirable singer, with a full-toned
voice, but he and all his colleagues here adopt that dread-
ful ' tremolo,' which they in professional language call ' vi-
brando ;' in addition to that we often hear regular bawling,
and the louder it is the louder they are applauded. The
1 ist duet was repeated three times, the bawling increased
each time, and with it the applause. There was a shower
of bouquets on the stage We heard, alas ! of Chop-
in's dangerous illness, and on inquiry found our worst fears
confirmed. His sister is nursing him : he suffers greatly."

After the dreaded event, Moscheles writes : " Art has
lost much in poor Chopin, for if not a classical writer or
one who created masterpieces, he possessed the rarest gifts
— a depth of feeling, tenderness (Gemuth), and individuality.
Jules Janin writes, in the yournal des Debats, that shortly
before his death he ordered a Polish national song and
Mozart's * Requiem' to be played to him."

From Leipzig Moscheles writes : " How am I to under-
stand this ? The very same public which rationally and
justly was enthusiastic in favor of Schumann's great work,
the B major Symphony, was now completely carried away
by a lady-harpist and Parish Alvars' bravura playing ! This
IS your so-called art-enlightened audience ! Again I was
displeased with the lukewarm reception given to Mendels-
sohn's works. O Clique ! as if in a city where the genius
of a Schumann is worshipped, it should be necessary to cry
down Mendelssohn as pedantic, and inferior to his brother
in art I The public loses all judgment, and subordinates
every feeling and musical instinct to one leadership, which
cozens it as much as the Radicals do the German people."



CHAPTER XXXI.
1850— 185 1.

Moscheles and his Pupils — Schumann's" Genovena" — Performance of
some of Mendelssohn's Works — Visit to Berlin — The Silver Wed-
ding — Paul David — Brendel — A Musical Quarrel — Bach Society
— Joachim — Political Agitation in Germany — Occasional Criti-
cisms — Pianoforte Players — Beethoven's " Mount of Olives" —
Lohengrin — Summer Excursion — Reception in W^eimar — David
— Ferdinand Hiller.

WE are confident that any one of Moscheles' old pu-
pils who happens to read these pages, will call to
mind the friendly ways and words of their former teacher,
whose wise discipline was invariably tempered with kind-
ness, and who enforced obedience by sympathy. He de-
lighted in organizing small fetes, where his pupils could
meet him on equal terms, where the classical musician
would cheerfully put aside Beethoven and Mozart, and play
a waltz or polka for the merry dancers. He was a true
friend, for to any deserving pupil about to leave the Con-
servatoire he gave credentials, which were sure to be of
value to the recipient. These were honestly and scrupu-
lously worded, and thus became the best of passports for an
aspiring artist. How carefully he weighed every word in
these certificates, we gather from his nulnerous notes in ref-
erence to the qualifications of the pupils, and from his drafts
for the framing of testimonials ; a whole mass of such mem-
oranda was found among his papers after his death. I'he
diary also catalogues with scrupulous accuracy the morning
and evening serenades, the tokens of affection, and proofs
of gratitude which were matters of constant occurrence.

His health seldom prevented him from attending to his
duties at the Conservatoire, but when indisposed and con-
fined to the house, he would have the pupils at home rather
than allow diem to miss their lesson. If further proof were
needed of the warm interest he took in the welfare of those



SCHUMANN'S'' GENOVEV a:' 359

entrusted to his care, we would quote the following note in
the diary : " As regards my pupils, I don't allow myself to
be trifled with ; 1 have fought a battle for some of them.
In the composition of the programmes for the Pupil Con-
certs, I will not stand any favoritism ; each and all shall
have their turn, according to their merits."

Moscheles, ever ready to acknowledge rising talent, took
great delight in the youthful Wilhelmine Clauss, whose play-
ing at the Gewandhaus he warmly admired. Of Schu-
mann's opera, '' Genoveva," he says : '" Madame Schumann
played it through to me. In dealing with the plot, Schu-
mann is still undecided whether the final reconciliation shall
take place in the desert or in the castle. In whatever way
he treats the subject, this opera is sure to be interesting to
any artist; whether it will be popular, I cannot judge from
hearing it once on the pianoforte." In the couise of the
following summer, after the first performance in the Leip
zig Theatre, Moscheles writes : " First impression : — Over-
ture excellent, full of passion ; choruses characteristic, the
whole vocal part passionately felt, although not strikingly
developed. There is a want of intelligible, flowing, rhyth-
mical melody ; I am one of Schumann's worshippers, but
cannot conceal from myself this weakness. We applauded
enthusiastically, and called him forward at the end, but
there was not a single ' encore.' "

" At the quartet meetings we had a great variety : In
the first place, Schumann's quartet in A major, strongly
Beethovenish in character ; then back to one of Haydn's,
by way of transition to the Mozart school, and lastly, Beet-
hoven's quartet in B major, op. 130. In this work Beetho-
ven storms heaven itself, and yet again what child-like sim-
plicity and passionate grief! Now a reaction for you, wor-
thy of record : ' Our friend Thalberg has played Mozart's
concerto at the Philharmonic ; there's a triumph for the old
school ! We had a lovely performance of Mendelssohn's
' The Son and Stranger,' at Frau Frege's. The orchestra
was under Rietz, David with Joachim and other great art-
ists assisting. Frau Frege, in the part of a naVve rustic
maiden, sang and acted charmingly ; Fntulein Buck and
PJgner acted the old parents; Widemann was the lover;-
scenery and decoration charming. We sat next to Ceeile



360



ke<:ext music and musicians.



Paul and Frau Dirichlet, all of whom had come from Ber-
lin to witness the performance. Cecile was alternately
moved, interested, and pleased, the other guests were de-
lighted, and all declared that this small idyll would certainly
take honorable rank among comic operas on the public
stage. The fragments of the opera, 'Lorelei,' in which
Mendelssohn shows clearly unmistakable power as a dra-
matic composer, seemed to intensify our sorrow at his pre-
mature death. The passionate strains allotted to ' Lorelei'
were superbly rendered by Frau Frege. What a pity that
so gifted an artiste should be withheld from the public ! I
myself may yet have to thank this gifted lady for many a
melody, for the style in which she interprets my new songs
delights me, and spurs me on to new efforts. We have
heard iMendelssohn's ' (Edipus ; ' the deep pathos of the
choral music, the 'ring of ancient days,' acted like magic
on my senses, and I felt recalled to the classic times of
Grecian poetry." The audience forgot to applaud, whether
from ignorance or excess of delight, I cannot say. Cecile
attended this performance, and early on the morning of
the 26th of February the Moscheles travelled with her to
Berlin, and were soon settled in the old house, Leipziger
Strasse, No. 3, consecraied by the memory of the happy
hours spent there with one now at rest. We read in the
diary : — '• C.'cile received us in her usual charming manner,
the dear children Were overjoyed to see us; little Felix is
well again. I could not help sitting down at the very Erard
piano the keys of which had so often responded to the mas-
ter's fingers, and playing, among other things, his' Frahling-
slied.' It was too much for poor Cccile.". . . .

On the 27th of February the Moscheles go to Hamburg
and celebrate there their silver wedding.

On the ist of March we read: "The all-merciful God
has raised me from a bed of sickness, and allowed me to
spend this joyous time with all that I love best in the
world. 1 was awoke in the morning by hearing the Cho-
rale *Nun danket Alle Gott,' then followed the Wedding
March out of the ' Midsummer Night's Dream,' a sorrowful
reminder of my departed friend, who would have so rejoiced
in our happiness."

Moscheles, on returning to Leipzig, hears Paul David,



SPOHR'S " SEASONSr



361



a promising young pupil of his father, play a Rode Con
certo : " He held his own bravely, just like a plucky boy
riding on a big horse ; he may be thrown once or twice,
but he is up again in the saddle in no time. I predict a
future for him."

" Spohr is still complete master of his violin, and con-
I'jcted his 'Seasons' with great precision. The invention
n :his work is weak, but the treatment and instrumenta-
tion are as artistic as ever. The ' Coming of Spring' has
a lovely melody, but art and counterpoint outweigh the
poetic vein. The music drags on slowly like a cart through
cfcep sand, one wheel creaking and groaning ; the ' Autumn'
ha.i its share of brightness, and the Rheinlied is cleverly
ipi.r\voven in the movement. The contrapuntal links of
the different subjects interest the thoughtful artist, but
fail 10 elevate him as does the music of a certain Beet-
hovei\''

In addition to the sources from which we have hitherto
drawn materials for our compilation, we now have Mos-
cht^es' letters to his son Felix, who at this time left for
Pars. Hitherto the son's classical education had been
pursued in Leipzig under the father's eye ; this was now to
be exchanged for the study of painting, an art to which he
intended to devote himself professionally. The corre-
spondence ranges (with some interruptions) over a period
of twenty years, and we shall frequently interweave ex-
tracts from it in our narrative.

" I went through Neukomm's Mass with him at the
pianoforte ; he keeps me strictly to the slowest of all tempi ;
for an ' accelerando' or ' animato' I would have given a
kingdom. These are sacrifices which one can make only
for an old and tried friend. 1 endure a trial of patience
of another kind, in arranging for four hands Chopin's 'Vi-
oloncello Sonata.' I find it a wild overgrown forest, into
which only an occasional sunbeam penetrates."'

In the Gewandhaus, Otto Goldschmidt played with
great success Mendelssohn's " G minor Concerto," a " Ca-
pnccio" of his own, and Liszt's "Lucia-Fantasia," with its
avalanche of shakes.

" My colleagues are up in arms against Brendel (him-
self a professor at the Conservatoire), for having inserted
16



362



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



an article headed 'Judaism in Music,' in his periodical
In this art'cle the author endeavors in every possible way
to depreciate Mendelssohn and Meyerbeer. I say 'en-
deavors,' for what harm can a malicious article do to such
men ? Nevertheless, Brendel has given great offence, and
Rietz suggests the following letter to the Committee of
Directors : —

" ' It cannot have escaped the notice of the honorable
Directors of the Conservatoire that the Neue Zeitschrift far
Musik has aimed for some time past at depreciating ihe
state of music and the musical performances at Leipzig,
and this in a tone which oversteps the limits of fair criti-
cism. Men are attacked whose merits are recognized
throughout the whole musical world, and whose works are
precious to every unprejudiced artist and connoisseur.
We. the undersigned, would completely ignore these mat-
ters if the editor of that journal, Dr. Brendel, was not one
of our colleagues at the Conservatoire. As his views are
in direct opposition to ours, and we believe they may exer-
cise a bad intiuence over the pupils of the Conservatoire,
we now call on the honorable Directors at once to dismiss
Di-. Brendel from his post. Signed : Becker, B^hme,
David, Hauptmann, Hermann, Joachim, Klengel, Mos-
cheles, Plaidy. Rietz, Wenzel.'

"The Directors, however, only thought fit to reprimand
Dr. Brendel, but much curiosity was naturally excited about
the authorship of the article in question. Dr. Brendel, how-
ever, very properly refused to divulge the name, and years
were to elapse before people ascertained that Richard Wag-
ner was the author."

Moscheles writes : — "Revised, for the engraver, Men-
delssohn's seventh book of the ' Lieder ohne Worte,' three
songs for a contralto voice, a setting of Goethe's words,
' Ein Blick von Deinen Augen,' which struck me as very
curious in rhythm, but I found it was correct when I com-
pared it with the manuscript."

During this winter a Bach Society is formed, consisting
of Bicker, David, Hiirtel, Hauptmann, Jahn, Moscheles, and
Rietz, and it is determined to bring out as a first publica-
tion the B minor Mass.

Joachim, who had already become the great Joachim,



JOACHIM. 363

left Leipzig in course of tiie winter, and went as ' Concert-
meister' to Weimar, where he was received witii the distinc-
tion he merited ; Raimond Dreyschock became second Con-
certmeister and teacher at the Conservatoire. Mrs. Mos-
cheles writes : — '• I rejoice to tell you that the composition
of the violoncello sonata my husband has just begun, com-
pletely absorbs him, and diverts his thoughts from the
troubles of the day ; " and Moscheles himself says, " I thank
you for all the enlightenment which you strive to give me, a
dilettante in politics, about the gloomy condition of Europe.
I deplore this ceaseless conflict now rife between the upper
and lower classes, which unsettles our poor Germany. I'i
you shake a bottle of good old port, the dregs will rise to
the surface, and spoil the wine. I read every kind of news-
paper, and could almost wish the bad old times back again,
when we had only to fight with the foreign foe. But now,
German against German ! Fie, fie ! they ought rather to
have their differences setded by diplomatists, or lawyers in
wigs and gowns, and write their annals in red ink instead
of red blood. Here, as elsewhere, people are desponding,
but I cling fast to my art, and lean upon ' Frau Musica' for
support.

On the ist of January, 185 1, Moscheles, glancing over
the events of the past year, says : '* I thank God for the
preservation of all those most dear to me, for health and

strength, for power of work This being my frame of

mind, the concert made a great impression on me. We had
the Cantata ' Ein' feste Burg,' by J. S. Bach, a grand con-
trapuntal work ; the hautboys, trumpets, and trombones
here and there effectively doubled by Rietz ; Mendelssohn's
beautiful * 95th Psalm,' with its pathetic Canon in C minor
— the whole performance a worthy inauguration of the
year.

'* Schubert's Symphony in C has beautiful and well-de-
veloped motives, but there is too much repetition ; one-half

of it would produce double effect ' Papa' Haydn's

Symphony was as fresh and healthy as ever ; nothing of the
demon in that. The rehearsal of the ' Antigone' filled me
with admiration as far as the music is concerned, but I do
not think it very well suited for the Concert-room. Men-
delssohn's Finale to the opera of ' Lorelei' is impressive and



364 RECENT MUSIC A AW MUSICIANS.

highly dramatic, ever}' instrument is ennobled, even to the
big drum. The general impression was electrical, and even
the champions of a new art-system, who hitherto have been
pleasc^d to pronounce Mendelssohn and his creations as old-
fashioned and out of date, applauded enthusiastically.
Should this fragment never be produced on the stage, it will
alwavs be a valuable acquisition to the concert-room ; it is a
gem from Mendelssohn's posthumous treasures. Beethoven's
Ninth Symphony, 'in the whirlwind of its passion,' carried
away the audience ; the performers grappled bravely with all
the difficulties, and the victory was glorious; the 'Ode to
Joy" found an echo in the hearts of all."'

With regard to Litolff, Moscheles writes : '' I admire his
light-fingered bravura, his weird like effects and 'verve;'
hrs execution, although stormy and restless, is always piquant
— he at least does not, like so many others, write sickly Ttal-
im music, half thunder, half sentiment. Schumann's 'Re-
quiem for Mignon' does not please me so much as his more
import -nt compositions. In the ' VValdscenen,' too, which
I have lately played, I thought the form too sketchy. I
well understand that he, like a good poet, wishes to give an
outline, and leave to the fancy of his hearers the filling in
of the whole picture ; but I prefer a more definite form and
elaboration to that peculiar dreaminess, that irresolution
and groping about. In his symphonies he is great. At the
Subscription Concerts, Castellan is creating a furore.
Handsome and imported from tlie Italian operas in Paris
and London ! No wonder that with such advantages the
clissicil Leipzigers opened their ears and hearts to the airs
of all the ' mis' and ' ettis.' The enthusiasm created by the
hackneyed roulades of the Rode Variations, proved that
genuine Italian music can move even a German audience.

" 1 have finished my Sonata for pianoforte and violon-
cello, and have already played it over with Rietz and
Gr tzmacher ; David, who heard it, wishes to arrange it for
violin. I do not think of publishing it yef — I like to let my
compositions lie by for awhile that they may go through the
process of fermentation, that is, I like to give myself the
opportunity of using the file after working with the sledge-
hammer, as one does in the first heal of composition. . . . ,
They wanted me to play it at the Quartet Concerts ; I hesi-



ly.AGXER'S " LOIlENCRIiVr



355



tated, but at last took heart, and played it with Rietz, who
assisted me valiantly. . . . We have also heard at the theatre
Mendelssohn's operetta, ' The Son and Stranger.' Although
the idyllic character charmed the connoisseurs and artists,
a few hisses were mingled with the applause when the piece
was ended ; these were like the occasional ' a has' which
are heard among the public cheers for a crowned head.''

Moscheles, on being asked whether Beethoven's
" Mount of Olives " had not been treated in too secular a
vein, answered : " No doubt that objection has been repeat-
ecfly made to the work, but even suppose there is some
truth in it, who would like to find fault with so great a
man ! Who, as Gottfried Weber has done in his ' Cacilia/
would attack Mozart's 'Requiem' on the ground of its not
being sufficiently severe in style.? In judging such beauti-
ful music, one ought not to draw a hard and fast line be-
tween the ecclesiastical and dramatic element."

In the month of May after hearing the opera of " Lohen-
grin " in Weimar, he remarks : " Liszt directed tiie admira-
Uy trained orchestra ; the singers were excellent. From
thi very first note of the Introduction, with its high violin
passages and gradation effects, the instrumentation seemed
to me to be strikingly original, in fact rather too original in
its Harshness. There is much dramatic life in this music,
but I do not like the predominance of recitatives ; I should
prefer more rhythmical melodious phrases or movements in
the ordinary form. Wagner's treatment frequently wearied
me, from being too monotonous and too overloaded ; for
one leading theme well worked out, for one well sustained
vein of thought, I would gladly have bartered many of his
bright but transient effects ; for all that the work interested
me extremely. One must have heard it, and one must hear
•t again, to form a correct judgment.

" My reception in Weimar was of the most cordial de-
scription ; the Grand-Duke showed me the art-treasures of
his palace. A request to write something for the " Sphiller
Album' in Weimar led to my composing a Fantasia for pi-
anoforte solo on the poem ' Die Ervvartung.'

" To-day at the rehearsal of the Pupils' Concert I would
have my way. ' Studies' by Chopin and Thalberg for two
pianos were to be played by two pupils at gnce ; I opposed



366 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

this, and successfully. No, the piano is not an orchestral
instrument like the violin ; mere strictness in keeping time
is not enough, and above all it will not do for Chopin's
music ; all its poetry would be lost if played on two pianos
unisono."

For a summer excursion, the Moscheles explore the
Hartz Mountains in all directions. He writes : — ''Certain-
ly many of the tavern pianos and small organs are afflicted
with consumption, but try them I must, and everywhere
there is a cantor, an organist, or at least a waiter or a Ge-
heimrath, who listens with due astonishment, not to men-
tion the fair sex, occasionally rather plain." At Alexisbad
Moscheles is most cordially received by the Duchess of
Bernburg, and meets with a no less friendly welcome at
Meiningen. In reference to an excursion to the " Alten-
stein,'' Moscheles says : — " As I was alone with the Duke
in the carriage, our conversation took a practical turn, and
he commissioned me to send him one of our best pupils
from the Conservatoire, to teach his youngest daughter.
Another good berth for some one."

Shortly after his return to Leipzig, Moscheles writes : —
" Few of the pianists appearing at the Gew-andhaus this
year have found favor with the critical Leipzigers ; on one
or two occasions their disapproval has been most discourt-
eously expressed. Hisses should be tabooed ; have
them if you must, in the theatre, but they are out of place
in the concert-room. I found Schumann's Overture to the
' Bride of Messina,' at the second hearing, full of power,
character, and passion ; but the audience, although it num-
bered many of Schumann's friends, was divided in its ap-
preciation of the work.

" For my own special benefit, and to acquire that partic-
ular style, I play Liszt's new Concert solo, the Paganini
Studies, and other modern things. As for Liszt I made a
fine mistake the other day. Just before he came in, I had
received Scudo's book, which had been sent me from Paris.
I asked him, 'Do you know this t The first article I see
bears your name.' 'Yes; it gives me some very hard
raps,' said he, laughing, and began to read aloud the au-
thor's attacks. I had expected eulogy, and was at first
alarmed, but soon laughed with him."



DA VID. ' 267

During the latter part of the year, much uncertainty
prevailed among David's friends as to whether he would
continue to act as Concertmeister in Leipzig, or would ac-
cept an appointment at Cologne. The first letter that
Moscheles pens in 1852 mentions the subject: " The best
news that the new year could bring is the certainty that we
keep our David here. You know he threatened seriously to
migrate to Cologne ; he has now come to terms with the
authorities, who have not only lightened his labors but in-
creased his salary. Ferdinand Hiller, who is at Paris, will,
it is said, return to Cologne — another gain for Germany."



CHAPTER XXXII.

1852.

Madame Sontag— The Bach Society — St. Matthew's Passion — O'.to
Goldschmidt — Complaints About the Conservatoire — Moscheles
and his Pupils — Silencing a troublesome Neighbor — The Tann-
hiusar — Berlioz's Music — Moscheles as Player and Lecturer — •
Modern Pianists— A Magnificent Gift — Vacation in Saxon Switz-
erland.

" OONTACt appeared this winter in Leipzig," writes
,!^ Moscheles ; •' a little older, a little less sylph-like, but
lovely, kind, and unassuming, her voice still well-preserved,
and her execution faultless. The growing enthusiasm for
her completely upsets the good people of Leipzig — they
are quite intoxicated j she is triumphant everywhere, and
the students gave her a torch-procession on her way home
from the theatre. We have seen her in all her great parts ;
the voice is still perfectly sufficient for our small Leipzig
house. Comparisons are odious, but, charmed as I was,
I could not forget, when looking at her quiet lady-like act-
ing, the intense tervor of Jenny Lind, the excessive passion
of Malibran. How ungrateful a creature is man ! I am
delighted when I hear her sing my ' Lieder,' which she does
to perfection and ' con amore.' I am now composing a
bravura piece for her; it was suggested thus: I frequently
play to her, and the other day when she heard my Fantasia
on Hungarian airs, she was so pleased with one of the mel-
odies that she said: 'I would like to sing that ; do write
me some variations on it, Moscheles.' Her wishes are
commands, and so I am busy inventing something impossi-
ble in the bravura line.'' Shortly afterwards she left for
Dresden, and Moscheles writes: "All Leipzig is still mad
about her, people think and talk of nothing else ; they
nearly forget to start the railway trains and to wind up the
church clocks." After she had sung in Weimar, there
appeared in the Netie Zeitschrift filr Musik an article mak-



B A CITS " PASSION MUSIC



369



ing a furious onslaught on Sontag, who was described as
the " Sorceress of Song"' (Gesang Nixe). Jenn}' Lind also
came in for her share of depreciation. This attack brought
no good to Weimar ; for Count Rossi wrote to the Grand
Duke, enclosing the article, and explaining that his wife
would never again perform where she had been so mis-
represented. She must revoke her promise, lately given,
to sing for a charity at Weimar. Sontag took the matter
lightly, adding: "They not only cry down my singing, but
my personal appearance as well ; they give me not only
false teeth, but a sham throat into the bargain."

" I cannot always agree with the Bach Society ; my
proposition to publish the first volume with pianoforte
accompaniment was outvoted ; I think that village school-
masters, and ignoramuses unable to decipher a score,
ought to become acquainted with Bach by means of the

pianoforte edition The old music room, in which

Sebastian had his practices with the pupils, has been rebuilt,
and [ attended the inauguration, where there was four-part
singing under Hauptmann's direction — the old portrait of
Bach, which has been carefully restored, seemed to preside
over our meeting. One of the pupils made an admirable
oration. On Good Friday the ' St. Matthew Passion' was
performed. I am deeply moved by the work," says Mos-
cheles, "and have published my impressions of this most
magnificent music in the Deutsche Allgemeine. But what
are words .^ Those double choruses, interspersed with
majestic chorales, the moment when Peter ' weeps bitterly'
at his own treachery, the air in C minor, * Ich will bei
meinem Jesu wachen' — in fact, one and all of the numbers
— how inadequate our praise must be ! You must hear it
all at the first opportunity. Schneider sang the Evangel-
ist's part admirably, the other singers, with Rietz and David

in the orchestra — all were equal to their great task

When you read this, and see me so deeply immersed in art,
you will hardly expect me to give my opinion on bank-
shares, government securities, and the like. It is just as
if I called on you to give me your opinion upon a score ;
please act for me in these matters. I gladly put myself
into your hands. Talking of our friends, do you know that
one of your fellow-citizens, Otto Goldschmidt, has had the
16^



370 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS

good fortune to marry our great artiste. Jenny Lind ? He
has won a great prize, and she has given her hand to a
man of high honor; he is a thorough musician, and aspires
to all that is best and purest in art."

Foremost aniong Moscheles' most loyal and devoted
pupils in the Conservatoire were J. O. Grimm, Radtcke,
the brothers Brassin, Gernsheim, von Sahr, Jadassohn,
Mertel, etc. ; with such as these he dehghted to draw on
the past years of his artistic experience, hoping to steep
their minds in the traditions of his own school. Always
conscientious in his duties as a teacher, he was naturally
impatient of interference. "To-day," he says, "I have
spoken freely my mind — I must insist on my classes ad-
hering to the readings and * Tempi' as I give them myself.
. . . . What am I to say to this? One of my lady pupils,
on the examination day, plays a posthumous manuscript
Study in F major by Mendelssohn, a work entirely new to
me ; on this occasion I learn quite by chance that there
still remains among Mendelssohn's papers much that is of
artistic value, and yet 1 and a few others were selected
specially by his widow to look through the posthumous
works, with a view to their publication. So a favored pupil
is allowed the privilege of playing an unheard work of
Mendelssohn's before i know even of its existence ! "

This year the summer vacation is spent in Saxon Switz-
erland. "We arrived late in the evening at Tetschen, hun-
gry and tired to death, and ordered supper in our room ;
but oh, misery! the sound of a piano suddenly breaks up-
on us ! Just imagine, only a thin door between me and
Weber's 'Invitation a la Valse,' strummed by an unprac-
ticed hand, and drawled out (to quote Mendelssohn; as * a
slow Presto.' I rang the bell, and frightened the abigail
with: 'Who is playing there?' ' Oh, only a young man
who, being engaged all day long in business, usually plays
for a couple of hours of an evening.' ' A delightful pros-
pect this ! ' thought I. I tried to eat, but that was impossi-
ble, so, without saying a word to my astonished tamily, 1
seized my hat, rushed out, and knocked at my neighbor s
door. The ' come in' brought me face to face with the in-
nocent delinquent. Assuming an air of feigned politeness,
I began the conversation: ' Your playing has allured me, a



ADVEXTURE IN SAXON SWITZERLAND.



37J



peitect stranger, and I venture to call. I play a little too
and happen to have studied that identical piece ; would
you like to hear my reading of it ? " I went straight to the
piano — the young man, quite abashed, made way for me—
and without waiting for his answer, I dashed through the-
piece in the wildest style and at a tearing pace, introducing
double octaves wherever 1 could get them in ; this had its
effect. 'Alas ! ' he said, with a sigh, 'I shall certainly nev-
er play it like that ! ' ' Why not.?' replied I, ' if you work
hard, but — good evening to you ! ' My object was attain-
ed; my nightly tormentor became mute, whether for ever I
can't say — at all events, I could eat and sleep in peace.
My wife and children, with their ears close to the wall, lis-
tened and enjoyed the joke immensely."

In October, Moscheles hears the " Tannhauser," given
in Dresden under Reissiger s direction : *' I was often sur-
prised both by the peculiarities of the composer's genius and
his original instrumentation ; on the whole, however, I still
feel as I did atler hearing ' Lohengrin.' There are too many
recitatives, too much that is fragmentary, in fact monotony,
the result of shapelessness. In saying this I bear in mind
passages full of genius and surprising effects ; but heart
and soul are not warmed by being so overloaded with pas-
sionate music."

In November Moscheles goes to Weimar, there to make
acquaintance with another novelty — Berlioz's music. " Ber-
lioz was very cordially received, his desk was wreathed
with laurels ; my expectations were not at a high pitch but
he certainly has surpassed them. A great deal is no doubt
over eccentric and disconnected, but there is much that is
grandly conceived and carried out. In the ' Faust,' his in-
troduction of the R.koczy March is electrifying; this was
repeated, as well as the soldier's song, and the waltz. The
music given to Queen Mab in ' Romeo and Juliet,' is not
only effective and charming, but worthy of being placed by
the side of Mendelssohn's works of a similar kind. Ber-
lioz's conducting inspired the orchestra with fire and en-
thusiasm, he carried everything as it were by storm ; I am
glad to have made acquaintance with him, both as a com-
poser and conductor."

Next day, Moscheles, Berlioz, and Liszt are invited to



372



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS,



dine with the Dowager Grand-Duchess, and adjourn in the
evening to the Theatre, where Liszt conducts a perform*
ance of Berlioz's opera of " Benvenuto Cellini." " I was
delighted by the flow of melody, and the occasionally very
discreet instrumentation ; a great deal, however, I find ob-
scure, and the iinale, the ' Carnival at Rome,' completely
unintelligible. The audience generally was in favor of the
music, although there was nothing encored. Berlioz was
called for after every act. After the opera, we all met at
Liszt's, it was a most interesting evening, and Berlioz was
hero of it. I had much conversation with him ; he is a
great thinker."

At a social union of the Leipzig Professors, Moscheles
appeared in the twofold character of player and lecturer.
First of all he played Beethoven's Sonata, op. 53, and after-
wards prefaced his rendering of the solo Fantasia, op. 77,
by some remarks about its origin and character. " This
Fantasia," he said, "is rhapsodical, eccentric, and on that
account but little known among musical connoisseurs. It
seems to me as if Beethoven had wished to represent him-
self in this work as sitting down unprepared, and perhaps
in a very bad humor, to the instrument, and then roving
about without a plan in the kingdom of his fancies. I my-
self occasionally heard him play in such a fashion, and
whenever I hear this Fantasia such moments involuntarily
recur to my mind."

The winter brings a number of modern pianists. " One
plays in a style cold and clear as a bright December night,
and just as frosty; another, with his crashing chords, shakes,
and arpeggios, is really too merciless on my unfortunate
Erard, which is not only beaten out of tune, but somehow
or other has been severely injured. I know the culprit j
with such handling how could it be otherwise ? " The
damage could not be repaired in Leipzig, and Mos-
cheles in great straits wrote to the Erards for advice.
" Should he send the injured part to Cologne or Paris ?
How long must he be kept waiting without his Erard ? "
"Not long," was the obliging answer; "just long enough
for one of our best grand pianos to be sent to you ; you
have had yours for seven or eight years already ; since
Uiose days we have made great improvements, and you



A NOBLE GIFT.



373



ought to have our very best instrument." Moscheles, all
gratitude and delight at receiving this answer, eagerly look-
ed forward to the arrival of the piano, a noble gift, and
doubly valued as coming from his old friend, Pierre Erard.



CHAPTER XXXIII.
1853.

The New Erard — The Bach Society — Franz von Holstein — ^Visit to It

aly — Scene in a Church of the Tyrol — Zither and Vocal Concert
Residence at Venice — A Musical Adventure — Carl Werner — Ser-
enade Per Canale — Festa di San Rocco — Milan — The Musical
Conservatoire — Fumagalli — The Teatro Radegonda — Lake of
Como — Visit to Pasta — Zurich — A Musical Treasure — Liszt — Dr.
Reclam — Erahm's Con^positions.

" ^ I ^HERE are sundry novelties this winter," writes Mos-
X cheles. " Gade, conductor of the Gewandhaus Con-
certs, has produced his Symphony with an obligate part for
the pianoforte ; the instrumentation of the work is beautiful,
but the addition of pianoforte a useless innovation, as the
band drowns it. The next new thing is Schumann's impet-
uous overture to * Julius Caesar,' but the newest of the new
is my Erard, with which I am intensely delighted. It has
the pov.er of an organ and the softness of a flute, with a
touch light enough even to satisfy me. As for the lovely
case, I think of Schiller's words : ' In dem schunen Korper
mus auch eine schone Seele wohnen ' — ' In a beautiful body
must dwell a beautiful soul.' Really I can act upon it as
upon a kindred spirit, and slowly spin out the tone as upon
a stringed instrument, and that, too, without using the loud
pedal j as for the soft pedal I do not require it to produce a
pianissimo, and can rely solely on my touch. No wonder
I celebrate the new arrival by inviting all my friends to hear
it." Afterwards, when the old instrument is sent back,
Moscheles writes in the following lugubrious strain : " My
faithful harmonious friend, how sorry I am to part v/ith him !
We feel as though some loved being were leaving us. I
looked out from my window and saw ' my friend ' carted
away from our door : did I see a coffin instead of a piano?
Cheer up, * Le roi est mort, vive le roi ! ' "

With regard to the Bach Society Moscheles writes : " I



AMUSING INCIDENT.



375



have sent in my resignation, because at a conference with
the two HArtels, Hauptmann, Becker, and Otto Jahn, a pro-
posal was made by the latter and adopted, that Becker
should edit the pianoforte music. Under the circumstances
I considered myself of Jittle further use on the Committee,
and so I told my colleagues ; all the more zealously, how-
ever, have I worked at Bach's newly published Concerto
(with violin and flute parts added), for I have been partic-
ularly requested to play it with the full band at the Gewand-
haus Concert, and not as I had intended previously at the

Chamber Concerts I examined a new pupil for the

Conservatoire, Franz von Holstein, formerly an officer in
the army ; his fingers are not flexible, but he seems to have
much talent, and wishes to devote himself exclusively to
music." *

" Athens on the Pleisse" (as it is often called) is be-
sieged by artists who concentrate their fire on the Hotel
Moscheles. ''All who fail to secure engagements at the
Gewandhaus wish to drag me into the Scylla of their woes,
while I try to escape this as well as the Charybdis of their
m'disance. How refreshing after this to find all our
troubles and joys shared by our dear friends the Geibels, in
whose house we live, our two families almost merging into
one.

The Moscheles this summer carry out their long pro-
jected scheme of visiting Italy — taking the Tyrol on their
way. An amusing incident occurs at Gries, a village in the
Tyrol. One bright Sunday morning they entered the pret-
tily decorated church, and saw a number of neatly-dressed
peasants, who were all engaged in devotion ; apparently
some " festa" was going on. Moscheles found his way to
the organ loft. The organist was in the act of playing the
" Kyrie ;" Moscheles slipped behind him, placed his fingers
between the organist's, and taking up the organ part at the
correct point, quietly ousted the surprised player. How-
ever anxious the poor man might at first have been at the
intrusion of a stranger, he soon became reconciled, dictat-
ing to him what came next in the service, telling him when

* Franz von Holstein has lately achieved great successes throughout
Germany with his opera, ' Die Haideschacht/ and other works.



-^6 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

to prelude, when to accompany the " Gloria," etc. At a
particular moment the organist had lo resume his seat,
wiiich the other vacated, bidding 'him "good-bye." "Do
not leave me without telling me who you are," said his
ncwly-acquired friend to Moscheles, who wrote his name on
the music. The effect was half comic, half pathetic ; our
organist, at the sight of the name, was fain to throw him-
self on Moscheles' neck ; his hands, however, were not at
liberty to leave the key-board for an instant. Before he
had finished his duties Moscheles had disappeared, and
was on the point of entering his carriage (all this happen-
ing while the horses were being changed), when his enthu-
siastic friend rushed after him, and gave him the long-
delayed embrace. 15th July. — " The constant rain disap-
pointed us yesterday of our intended walk, so we allowed
ourselves to be enticed to a ' Zither' and vocal concert,
that was said to be national, and was not enough so for our
taste. The costume was Tjrolese, the zithers also ; but the
worm of modern music had gnawed its way into the healthy
Tyrolese fruit. We had to endure in the first part some
pieces of ' Martha,' all kinds of waltzes, and a ' Strapazier
Polka ;' we ran off before the second part began."

The travellers are next at Venice, where they stay a
month in the Palazzo Mocenigo, once occupied by no less
a p<srsonage than Lord Byron. The house belongs to the
Contessa Mocenigo ; portraits of her ancestors, the Doges,
are painted by Giambellino on the ceilings. " The Count-
ess is a picture herself ; when she steps majestically into
her richly-ornamented gondola, and seats herself on her
gilded chair, her old servant preceding her with her breviary,
we all rush to our balcony to see this embarkation — the
scene carries us back to bygone ages. I have a good
piano, which probably acquires a fictitious brilliancy from
scanding on a marble floor. Need I say that the very
atmosphere breathed by Byron — the lagoon, the palaces,
the moon shining down on St. Marc"s, mirrored on the
silvery waters — all these bright visions and associations

make my improvisations run glibly from my fingers."

Again Moscheles writes : " I had much wished to make
myself acquainted with the state of music and its professors
here ; but I find on all sides shallowness and mediocrity*



VENICE



177



The ' Teatro Fenice' is closed, so also is the ' San Samuele.*
Tbe wanderins: musicians, who play in the Piazza of St.
Marc or in eating houses, for small coin payment, are more
deafening than animating ; the tone, however, of both men
and women violinists has often something piquant about it,
reminding one of the style of Paganini, by which I mean
that the Leipzig Schneckenberg resembles Mont Blanc.
At sunset we hear from the Palazzo Foscari (now a bar-
rack) the shrill trumpet signals, which grate harshly on our
ears, although the canal lies between us j we hear, too, the
gondolieri of the neighboring ' Traghetto' singing with
their pretty, soft voices their vapid Barcaroles \ we are also
favored sometimes with a jingle of guitar and piano, with
stale, hackneyed ' fioriture,' which I don't like half as well
as good fritture.' The only good music we have is that of
the Austrian military band, which plays three evenings in
the week on the Piazza of St. Marc. Now let me tell you
of my musical adventure. On walking through one of the
back-streets I hear some showy pianoforte playing. 'Oho!
Oho ! that — that is no amateur, but a professional hand.*
1 pull the bell, and ask boldly if "II Professore di Cem-
balo sia di casa ? ' 'Si, Signore,' is the answer, and I am
soon conducted into a room, where a man of some thirty
years of age is playing a Bravura Mazurka by Fumagalli,
the beginning of which I had heard below ; near the player
sits a young Abbe. I make him understand by signs that
I am anxious not to interrupt him. When he has finished,
I ask, ' Will you give me lessons ? ' and he consents. He
now plays Fumagalli's ' Carnovale di Piu,' making all kinds
of brilliant skips and octave passages ; I repeatedly inter-
rupt him with a ' bravissimo.' After this I am called on to
try the instrument, and both teacher and Abbe follow my
improvisation with increasing interest ; afterwards the
pianist in a state of great perplexity, asks, ' Whose pupil
are you ? ' ' Moscheles' ! ' ' Ah ! I know that famous
name.' ' Do you also know his compositions ? ' 'In Ven-
ice we don't play such serious music' ' What music do
you choose for your regular art-studies .'' ' ' Generally
speaking, the arrangements from favorite operas.' ' I will
play to you a study by Moscheles,' said I, and chose the
chromatic one in D major. On my rising to leave, he stop-



378 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

ped me, ' You don't want lessons from me, that is clear,
only I hope you will tell me your name; mine is Carlo
Fortunati.' When I gave him my own name, he embraced
me with all the impetuosity of a Southerner, and rained
kisses and epithets on me ; so we parted as musical friends,
and shall often meet in that capacity. The Abbe too is a
musical enthusiast."

" Fortunati comes, occasionally as a hearer, sometimes,
too, as a player. When he brought the overture to Verdi's
'Nabucco' arranged as a pianoforte duet, to try it over with
Serena, she lost all patience with his inability to keep time,
while at every claptrap rhythm he exclaimed exultingly,
' Oh ! che bella sinfonia !' " During their stay at Venice the
Moscheles became acquainted with the famous water-color
painter, Carl Werner, whose works, and whose studio, with
its rich decorations and art treasures, were so celebrated,
and he and his gifted pupil Passini became frequent visitors

at the Palazzo Mocenigo '' Yesterday there was a

' Seren.dta per Canale.' A great wooden vessel, gayly decked
with red and white cloth, and illuminated with two pyramids
f-stooned with lamps, floats down the canal when night be-
gins to set in ; it is large enough to receive a complete or-
chestra, two grand pianos, and solo performers ; there is
singing and flute, fiddle and pianoforte playing, but all in
tiie commonest Italian hum drum style, nothing for the mu-
sically-cultivated ear, everything for the beauty-loving eye ;
Bengal lights illuminating the canal, a complete scene out
of the Arabian Nights. The brilliant vessel is closely sur-
rounded by black gondolas ; four gondolas take it in tow,
and its course is often impeded by the small craft. We en-
joyed the sight, first from our own balconv, then from the

Rial to On the eve of the ' Festa di San Rocco' a

* Musica a Grand Orchestra' was performed at the church ;
but how 1 Pretty waltzes and polkas were played upon the
organ, then a fugue full of discordant fifths and octaves,
with occasional utterances from a priest's hoarse voice at
the high altar, and the tones of a wheezy and discordant
organ ! The Director marked each rhythm by thrashing
his desk as heartily as the poor saint may have been beaten
•n his lifetime, often drowning the sharp metallic ring of the
orchestra, and murdering the effect oi the solo, which was



VERDrS" LUISA MILLER:



379



sung by a fine tenor, with the usual * tremolando.' Occa-
sionally the clapping of hands, like castanets, but oftener
like the crack of a postillion's whip, was heard in the midst
of music. The beautiful marble pillars of the unhappy
church were veiled under a covering of red damask, large
wax candles dimly lighted up the oppressive atmosphere,
and the olfactory nerves suffered from snuff and garlic, which
rose in clouds from the dense crowd."

From Venice the Moscheles proceed, via Mantua and
Brescia, to Milan. There Moscheles visits the Musical Con-
servatoire, " originally a cloister, now half barrack, half
school for young musicians. The Professors show me great
respect, my ' Studies' are adopted, that is all they know of
my music, of Beethoven or Mendelssohn they know abso-
lutely nothing. I played them my ' Grande Valse' in order
to give them a little of our German Bravura. Fumagalli
played a song by Gordigiani, 'O santissima Vergine Maria,'
very gracefully ; afterwards he displayed great powers of ex-
ecution and novel effects in his ' Carnevale di Piu,' which in
humor and dash is not inferior to Paganinis. The Teatro
Radegonda has a second-rate theatre band, and singers for
the most part rough and untrained ; the prompter, not hid-
den as elsewhere, occasionally joins in the fray, the good
voices are often shipwrecked in the howling storm of the
finales, but at that certain passage where the prima donna
steps forward with outstretched arms and rolling eyes, the
public applauds vehemently. The opera was ' Luisa Miller'
by Verdi ; it has no overture, only some hackneyed ideas,
screaming noise, and here and there one or two good vocal
effects, which barely sufficed to keep me awake."

A visit to Pasta, is next recorded. " This famous * Can-
tatrice' lives in a small house adjoining her own villa, on
the lake of Como. Close to the door we stumbled on some
prosaic matters — dirty saucepans, kitchen utensils, and the
lii<e, not to mention the leavings of an early dinner. Amid
this debris sat three unkempt girls, not one of them in love
with soap and water. At my bidding one of them took in
our cards, and the great lady soon appeared. We did not
see her at her best, for having just risen from her siesta in
which we had disturbed her, she was only half awake. We
found her very friendly, and evidently gratified with our



38o RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

visit. Her mouth and teeth are still lovely, the great eyes
full of fire, her black hair was in a dishevelled state, and her
dress an extremely original medley of oddities. She never
ceased talking of old times, and told us she had given up
living in the villa, because both her mother and her husband
had died there. She afterwards wrote something for our
albums, and gave us some beautiful flowers." ....

After exploring the Lago Maggiore, etc., the Borromean
Islands, etc., Moscheles finds his way to Zurich, where he
calls on the son of his old friend Nageli. " He possesses
a treasure," says Moscheles, " in the manuscript of Bach s
B minor Mass, of which his father became possessed, through
Schwenke, in Hamburg. I made him show it to me. and
have no doubt of its genuineness. The Bach Society of
Leipzig would gladly have purchased it from him, but he
stoutly refused to part with it. Besides this he possesses a
still unpublished Concerto for four pianos by Bach ; it is in
the key of A minor."

Immediately after the return to Leipzig, we find Mos-
cheles receiving Liszt at the Conservatoire. " He seemed
satisfied with the performance of the pupils, and spoke kind-
ly and encouragingly to them, but would not play before
them ; that was a great disappointment. At David's we
heard him play a pianoforte arrangement of his Fantasia on
the ' Prophet,' originally written for the organ. H.ns v.
B.Jow played the pedal part in the bass. The first and last
movements consist of violent and stormy Fugues ; I prefer
the middle one with its quieter subject. He also played his
very piquant waltz in A flat major, introducing many over-
strained efi"ects by first using the soft pedal, and then sud-
denly introducing strongly accentuated i i^tes."

In a letter of the 28th Sept. we read : " To-day I write
to you during the examination of our 118 pupils, who must
one and all be heard in the course of this week ! The Di-
rectors and Professors sit as judges, the former have their
little chat occasionally, the latter, when their own pupils are
not playing, while away the time as best they can, David is

drawing, I am w^riting I am going through several

things : Czerny's op. 800, ' Gradus ad Parnassum' with difii-
culties well adapted to the hand, but now out of date ;
Liszt's ' Rhapsodie Hongroise,' interesting as a faithful



DR. RE CLAM. 381

transcription of national music ; I even try to take off Fuma-
galli in his * Carnevale di Piti' .... Tiiere is some
first-rate work in Griitzmacher's trio." " Our friend F.,
with his bumptious ways, is particularly offensive to me ;
he, like so many others, comes to me for advice, advice
meaning praise. How infinitely superior to such profes-
sionals are amateurs of the stamp of Frau B. ! Her per-
formance of my ' Concert Path^^^tique' was so good, that I
took to playing the piece again myself. To the best of my
belief, it is not only in advance of my former compositions
in form and style, but a maturer work, and yet it has re-
mained comparatively unnoticed ! "

. . . . " The heavens mourn in sackcloth and ashes ; am
I to do so likewise, because Eastern affairs seem threaten-
ing, or because I am laid up with a bad knee ? No, let the
contending Powers keep guard over Europe's equilibrium,
leave me to my musical nursery, and let Dr. Reclam look
out for my knee. I believe that, with his electro-galvanic
apparatus, he has hit upon the right remedy to cure me.
With my fingers and my advice I can still make myself use-
ful, for the pupils come to my house, and I play a great
deal"

Dr. Reclam's treatment rapidly proved effective, he him-
self became Moscheles' life-long friend, attending him and
his family with skill and devotion. Frau Reclam, one of
the best interpreters of sacred music in Leipzig, was a fre-
quent visitor at Moscheles' house, and delighted him with
her artistic rendering of his songs.

To return to the diary : " Brahm's compositions are of
a really elevated character, and Schumann, whom he has
chosen as his model, recommends him as the ' Messiah of
Music' I find him, like Schumann, often piquant, but oc-
casionally too labored. Even Beethoven's music was ob-
jected to, people say, when it first appeared, as being too
far fetched, and difficult to understand. True it is, that
Beethoven's genius lured him away to paths never trodden
before, which are not accessible to every one, and yet since
that time it has been proved, that he not only sought but
found what he wished to express in music. Let us hope
that this also may be the lot of the younger composer. B.'s
technical powers, his reading from sight, do him and his



3^^



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



teacher Edward Marxsen great credit. ... I have heard a
good deal of Berlioz, and give him my closest attention.
My opinion of his music remains unshaken, I acknowledge
his merit, but cannot always understand him — or is such
music as the 'Witches' Sabbath,' not meant to be under-
stood ? Curious ! one now listens again with pleasure to
the simple opera, ' Doctor und Apotheker,' by Dittersdorf,
in which Behr and Schneider sing and act so admirably ;
one forgets, how Rossini, in his ' Tell,' and Meyerbeer in
his ' Roberto,' have crammed us with their loaded instru-
mentation and scenic effects, and how Wagner has gone
beyond both. Les extremes se touchent."

The end of the year was marked by the happy event of
Moscheles' second daughter becoming engaged to Dr.
George Rosen, at that time Prussian Consul at Jerusalem.
Congratulations from friends contrast sadly with reflections
confided to the diary, on the death of Cecile Mendelssohn,
the great musician's devoted lover.



CHAPTER XXXIV.
1854— 1855.

Madame Lind Goldschmidt — Fritz Gernsheim — Musical Critics — Abor
live Works — Asiatic Music — David — Music of the Future — Schind-
ler and Ferdinand Hiller — Summer Holidays — Munich — The
Theatre — Fraulein Seebach — Evening at the Schaffrath — Ranch —
Pianos in the Exhibition — Egern — Rubinstein — Arabella Goddard
— Public Appearances — Mendelssohn's Reformation Symphony.



A



N event, that was joyfully welcomed by all of us at
Leipzig, was the appearance here of the Lind-Gold-
schmidts, for the first time since their marriage. Madame
Lind-Goldschmidt sang for the ' Pension Fund,' and was
our star at the Subscription Concert. She can tone down
her glorious voice" to a pianissimo whisper, and the sound,
however attenuated, is distinctly audible in the remotest
corner of the Concert room ; she is wonderfully versatile.
After astounding every one with her 'fioriture,' and stirring
all hearts with her deeply expressive singing, she becomes
at once exquisitely naive and sings a ' Kinderlied ' by
Taubert, or the ' Sonnenschein,' in a style that makes her
hearers feel young again. Goldschmidt played us a great
deal of beautiful music ; in Chopin's Concerto, Mendels-
sohn's ' Variations Serieuses,' a prelude by Bach and some
drawing-room pieces, he proved himself a genuine artist,
earnest and thoughtful, with no straining for show or effect
I was so glad to be able to be of service to him, and to
prove my great respect and esteem for him by lending him
my Erard piano."

Again we read : " We have passed some delightful
hours with the Goldschmidts, meeting them at a family din-
ner, and at a matinee given by Preusser, where Otto Gold-
schmidt played his trio, a well-written, clear, and melodious
composition, which gave me great pleasure. The Gold-
schmidts paid us a visit at the Conservatoire, and seemed



3 84 ^^ ^^^'^' ^ ^^ ^-^-/C AND MU SI CIA AS.

perfectly satisfied with the performances of the pupils,
especially that of the youthful Fritz Gernsheini, who highly
distinguished himself in Mendelssohn's Serenade and Alle-
gro. Madame Goldschmidt repeatedly expressed her esteem
for an institution to which her husband owed his musical
education ; and this she did not only in words, but in songs
as well, for she sang Mendelssohn's Psalm, ' Hear my pray-
er,' so exquisitely that none who heard it can ever forget the
impression she created."

"I am sorry to say there are many students here who,
instead of employing their time in the study of composition,
abuse it by writing pungent criticisms for the musical press,
a practice which alwaj^s reminds me of Mendelssohn's
words : * Why on earth do they talk and write so much ?
let them compose good music instead I' I doubt if he would
have found much good music in the pieces so full of sple-
netic moanings that I am occasionally compelled to listen to.
What would he have said of the pupil who ordered music-
paper with forty staves to write an opera upon ? I failed to
discover in the forty lines four thoughts ! . . . . Hauptmann,
it seems, endorses my opinion ; the other day he wrote to
the following effect: 'The results of the method of study

adopted by Mr. are shown in his progressive aptitude

for obscurity and confusion !' .... A new Sonata, thirty-two
pages long ! but it does not inspire me. What chaos !
Thoughts, ambitious ones, occasionally glimmer through the
darkness, but the whole region is as dreary as a churchyard
with all its slabs and tombstones turned topsy-turvy by a
shock of earthquake. Grinning skulls stare out of the open
graves, among them one of a strictly orthodox contrapuntist,
who seenis to scoff at all the sacrilegious Italian roulades.
The corpses of the women begin their witches' howl ! When
I went to bed I felt completely stunned, and passed a restless
night — perhaps I should have done better, if I had sat up
all night smoking, and sipping coffee, to recover my equi-
librium."

A letter from Mrs. George Rosen, giving her father an
account of the state of music in Jerusalem, elicits the follow-
iwi answer: "The unrefined Asiatic music, with its dreamy
monotones such as you describe, certainly contrasts
strangely with our own fixed canons of art, which are so



SCHINDLER'S PAMPHLET. 385

diametrically opposed to theirs. To the natives I grant
this style may be just as interesting as Handel or Mendels-
sohn is to us ; very likely they would be bored by the
' Eroica ' Symphony. But even the European ladies who
reside near you, and do not get beyond a song or chorale,
are characteristic in their way. They will find it a difficult
matter to soar up to the regions of Beethoven's latest works,
whereas our young Germany already considers this hero as
'rococo,' and spreading its wings, strives to soar to higher
regions above."

" I heard ' Don Juan ' the other night ; Miterwurzer was
admirable. I am glad to say that, instead of the dialogues,
we had the original Recitatives, and the stupid scene with
the messengers of justice was cut out. As often as I hear
this opera, and think of the ' music of the future,' I feel as
if 1 had suddenly emerged from a dark wood, where toads
and hobgoblins make a hideous concert, and was coming
forth into the sunny light of day, and Apollo playing me
heavenly melodies David withdraws from the direc-
tion of the Gewandhaus Concerts, and resumes his duties as
Concertmeister. The rude attacks made upon him in the
public papers are so irritating that I think he is perfectly
justified in declining to expose himself any more to such
annoyances. I have a fellow-feeling for him in this matter,
and when we discussed the subject yesterday, I handed him
Schindler's lately published pamphlet, * On the Development
of Pianoforte playing since Clementi,' in which I am very
roughly handled. His egotism is the chief feature through-
out ; it is '/' perpetually; 'Clementi, Cramer, Beethoven,
and /' worked together for the promotion and welfare of
art. ' Hummel and Moscheles have perverted pianoforte-
playing. The latter (says he) has actually had the audaciiy
to set to metronome Tempi works of Beethoven, whom he
never heard play ' — he, Schindler, has already paid him out
properly for this. He makes a dead set at Liszt, who face-
tiously prays for a respite of three years, that he may learn
to do better, Schindler allows him four, but these having now
expired, he announces that he gives him up. . . . Ferdinand
Hiiler published a letter to Schindler in reply, in which he
showed to demonstration the absurdity of his pretending to
be the intimate friend of Beethoven, and asked him, "if he

17



3S6



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



ever got so far in his whole life, as to be able to play Cra«
mer's first Study ? Can he show him a single trace any-
where of any one composition by Schiinder ? or has he, as
a conductor, a past history only known to himself? What
are his claims to the position of Beethoven's Stadtholder
and alter ego ? " Hiller concludes with Goethe's words,
" Nur die Lumpen sind bescheiden," (None but good-for-
nothings are modest), therefore pray discard all modesty,
and enlighten on the subject your, so far as possible, humble
servant, F. Hiller."

"Meanwhile I employ myself," says Moscheles, " writing
Cadenzas for Beethoven's Concertos, which Sneff intends to
publish. Of course, self-reliant artists, able to write for
themselves, have no need of these ; they can follow their
own inspirations. I hope, however, to make myself useful
to less gifted executants

" I have lately seen some remarkable title-pages to
pianoforte pieces : ' Le Torrent ' — let that pass, because it
Is a veritable shower-bath of notes ; but others, ' From the
Highlands,' ' Sunset,' ' Storm,' etc., are mere misnomers.
If you give a title at all, let it cap the subject as the dot
caps the 'i;' otherwise, I would much rather draw the
stroke as through the ' t.' "

Moscheles was only too glad to spend his summer holi-
days in Munich, where his son Felix was pursuing his art
studies. " Such a bustle and hurry here ! " he writes ; " all
the world topsy-turvy and Exhibition mad ! It rains cats
and dogs, as even the visitors to the Exhibition find to their
cost, although they fancy they are safe in their promenade
under the big glass dome. We have one half ounce sun-
shine to a pound of rain — that's about the proportion. In
spite of some drawbacks, however, we have great enjoyment ;
the galleries, museums, etc., are a constant resource, and
well may the Munich theatre boast of its ' model perform-
ances j ' there is a galaxy of all the grand actors in Germany,
who condescend by turns to fill the smallest parts in the
pieces represented. You can fancy what it is to hear a man
like Devrient make something out of nothing, and invest
even a third-rate part with dignity. A few evenings since
we heard Fraulein Seebach read ' Hamlet ' in Kaulbach's
house. She is an enthusiastic student of Shakespeare, and



MUNicrr. 387

every inch an artist. After the reading was over we danced,
and I had the honor of a waltz with Madame Kaulbach ; it
was only due to me because I resigned myself to polka-play-
ing for the universal good."

Moscheles describes an evening at the artists' club-house
(Schaffrath) : " There was a special ceremony in honor of
old Rauch, who was presented with a diploma and greeted
with tremendous cheers. In spite of his seventy-one years,
he is most dignified and graceful in his ways \ amid foam-
ing beer cans and thick clouds of tobacco, I made the ac-
quaintance of all the celebrated painters here. ... I leave
the newspapers to tell you all particulars about the Exhibi-
tion ; I report only of my special department — the pianos.
The Commissioners allow me to try them before the public
are admitted, but, however early I come in the building, I
find ' their fond fathers' collected together out of the differ-
ent provinces of Germany. Their name is legion, but I
must notice a Klems from Disseldorf as being marked by
Clara Schumann, and Andre's so-called Mozart-Clavier
from Frankfort. The specialties of the different instruments
I discover without any difficulty, and endeavor by my treat-
ment to bring into relief all the best points of each. You
know my old saying, 'A good rider should be able to sit any
horse.' "

To escape the dangers of cholera, which broke out in
Munich, Moscheles and his family withdrew to Egern on
the Tegernsee, where they were joined by many of their
distinguished friends ; among them were Baron Liebig,
Professor Seibold, Stieler, David, and Bodenstedt, the well-
known translator of Shakespeare's sonnets. " That dreadful
cholera," Moscheles writes, " has happily as yet not reach-
ed this beautiful little spot ; it is only a pity that the moun-
tains have the bad habit occasionally, of putting on their
cloudcaps and weeping over their own ugliness. To-day
umbrellas are no good at all, the puddles more like
wells, but in fine weather we boat on the lake, scramble
up the mountains, plunge into cow-keepers' cottages, de-
mand pancakes, sing four-part songs, and laugh in unison.
If the grasshoppers only knew that we, like them, are mu
sical, they would perhaps give us a little less chirping. . .
Mierdel, Jule, and Liese, with their dark head-gear and blondf



388 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

complexions, and brown feet, do double dutv as models foi
Felix and my teachers of national songs, which I note down
as being extremely pretty. Bodenstedt has written some
words for me ; I have set these to music, and his wife (our
prima donna) sings them." This song — " Wenn der Fri;h-
ling auf die Berge steigt" — has become very popular in
Germany.

Leipzig. — "Rubinstein, whom we heard fourteen years
ago in London as a prodigy, appeared now as a composer
of a Symphony, which he has named * Ocean.' The clear-
ness of the first movement had the same soothing effect on
me as a calm unruffled sum.mer sea ; afterwards, however,
we had all the storming and roaring that are now the fash-
ion, and the boisterous elements became so hopelessly in-
comprehensible that my thoughts could find no anchorage
in their unfathomable harmonic depths. I fully recognize,
however, in Rubinstein a pre-eminent talent for composi-
tion. In his Concerto there are true beauties and high
flights of imagination ; here and there are to be found out-
rageous extravagances ; his shorter movements, generally
speaking, are to be commended for their rational form ; in
power and execution he is inferior to no one. Rubinstein's
features and short irrepressible hair remind me of Beetho-
ven ; I delight in his simplicity and sincerity ; he is always
a welcome visitor at our house, and so also is our young
friend Arabella Goddard. In her very young days I heard
her play in Paris, and prophesied for her at that time a
brilliant future ; I think events have proved the clearness
of my prophetic vision. Miss Goddard conquers enormous
difficulties with consummate grace and ease, her touch is
clear and pure as a bell. Here, as everywhere, she found
that recognition which not even the severest art critic could
withhold I will spare you the infliction of my poli-
tics, which bear the same relation to yours as an engraving
to an oil picture. I will only add that I am pleased with
the attitude of Austria, and that the King of Prussia and I
are animated with the same feelings for the unity of Ger-
many. May the Emperor of Russia learn to feel that baths
in the free mouth of the Danube are more effective than
blood-baths ! With this wish, I speed the parting year ! "

"Spohr's Symphony for double orchestra, ' Irdisches



TFIE " FLiEGENDE HOLLANDER.



389



und GOttliches,' has a subject worthy of a Beethoven ; but
the artificial construction cramps the free outpour of feel-
ing It was remarkable in the Gewandhaus yester-
day that, after the stormy overtures to the ' Fliegende Hol-
lander,' not a single hand was raised to applaud, not even a
single hiss heard. There is a great deal of Geist' in the
music, but it is of the scorching kind, and to me such
masses of instrumentation and such a piling up of diminish-
ed sevenths and discords of all kinds, are distracting and
joyless. Gluck, no doubt, has his musical demons, and
Mozart his hell in ' Don Juan,' but they do not give one a
headache ; and yet the papers will maintain that, just as
Beethoven's latest works were not immediately understood,
so it will take time to become familiar v/ith Wagner. . . .
Every performance of Beethoven's overture in C, op. 115, is
especially interesting to me, for it reminds me of the old
Vienna days, when Beethoven lent it me in manuscript for
one of my concerts. Yesterday it went splendidly."

In writing to his relatives, Moscheles alludes to the se-
vere illness of his son Felix, who was confined to the house
for several months : '* Sickness still hovers over our house
like a heavy thunder-cloud, and we are often so depressed
that everything seems dark to our eyes. But there is a
silver lining to every cloud, and we have never lost our
trust in Providence. My time is equally divided between
my business and my dear patient ; I intend to screw my-
self up to a public appearance." (He refers to a concert
given for a charity, when he played Mozart's A minor Con-
certo, with his own cadenzas.) " I thank God that the
powers of artistic enthusiasm enabled me to suppress many
a gloomy thought ; I do not think the audience noticed any
change in me ; nothing could be more flattering than my
reception, I was cheered to the echo. I could not help say-
ing to myself over the adagio, ' What divine music ! ' nor
can I wonder at its giving the audience such exquisite pleas-
ure. It gratifies me also to find that there is no necessity
as yet for my hanging up my harp upon a willow-tree ; pub-
licity, however, has no longer any charnis for me. I hope
that to my life's end I shall retain enthusiasm and freshness
for appreciation of the beauties of Mozart, which have be-
come a part of my very self" A few weeks later he plays



390 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

again for a chanty. "I chose Beethoven's trio in D, and
heard for the first time Friiulein Tietjen's glorious voice."

" Such a curious Fantasia I heard to-day. It was a mis-
erably weak commentary on the motto it bore, ' Emotion is
onl}- fit for women, man's spirit should strike fire.' Mighty
Beethoven ! thou couldst make women weep and inspire
men, but thy imitators are more diseased in mind than ever
deafness made thee ! — that Fantasia in three movements, E
flat minor, A major, and E flat minor, with twenty-three
other keys besides, stormed and whined, and any glimmer-
ing of spirit, depth, or poetry, was diluted in the length and
monotony, the hopeless want of form and evenness of con-
struction. I don't think the young composer answerable
for this ; he has talent and judgment enough to do some-
thing much better in time. Why not show him, in charity,
his faults, and tell him to wait patiently for the ripening of
his gifts?"

" I heard Wagner's overture to Faust, which I place
higher than his other works. The demoniacal element is
well worked out, and the better emotions are indicated by
clear melodious thoughts. In compliance with the wish of
several members of the orchestra, it was proposed to give
a posthumous work by Mendelssohn, the ' Reformation
Symphony.' Felix himself was dissatisfied with this com-
position, and did not wish to publish it ; his brother, whom
we consulted about the performance, left the question to be
decided by Rietz, David, Hauptmann, and myself. We
tried it at a rehearsal. In spite of many beauties which
the work contains, we resolved not to give it, as the whole
symphony does not stand on the same high level with Men-
delssohn's other compositions, and we were afraid that the
work might have to encounter unfriendly criticism. We
did not escape some harsh comments in England for having
kept back the work of one whose music it was considered,
ought to be the heritage of the world.



CHAPTER XXXV.
1856— 1860.

Centenary of Mozart's Birth — Programme of the Concert — ^Julius
Stockhausen — Ernst Pauer — Birds of Passage — Behr's Benefit^
Louis Brassin — A Charming Present — Max Bruch — Arthur Sul-
livan — Jubilee of the Prague Conservatoire — Visit to Antwerp —
Concours de Chant at Brussels — Schiller Festival — Intercourse
with Liszt — Visit to Paris — Rossini.

ON the 27th of January, 1856, the centenary of Mo-
zart's birth was celebrated at the Gewandhaus by a
performance, the proceeds of which were to be devoted to
the foundation of a Mozart Scholarship, to be competed
for by members of the Leipzig Conservatoire. We here
insert the Programme, interesting on account of the histori-
cal dates :

Overture to the " Re Pastore." Romance and duet
out of the same Opera. Composed in 1775 i^
Salzburg as a Festival Opera, and performed for
the first time to commemorate the visit of the
Archduke Maximilian to Archbishop Hieronymus.
Concerto for Violin and Viola, composed in the year
1778, played by Herr Dreyschock and David.
Overture to Idomeneo. Scene, Air, and March out
of the same Opera. Given for the first time 29th
January, 1781, in Munich.
March of Priests, Air and Choruses, out of the *' Zauber-
flote." Performed for the first time in Vienna, 30th
September, 1791.
Overture to '• Titus." First performance in Prague,

1791.
Last Scene, Second Act, " Don Juan." First perform-
ance in Prague, 28th October, 1787.
Symphony in C major, with the Final Fugue. Composed

in August, 1788.
It cannot escape observation that, as a composer for the



39^



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



pianoforte, Mozart was not represented on this occasion, a
fact in every way distasteful to Moscheles, who would
gladly have shown his devotion to the great master by pub-
licly interpreting one of his works.

" Julius Stockhausen's first appearance here has given
us all great pleasure. I can pay him and his singing no
higher compliment than to say that he is the worthy son
of one whose gifts as a vocalist were of the highest order ;
his pronunciation and method are faultless. Our public,
never over demonstrative, enthusiastically applauded him."

During the winter of 1856, Moscheles writes the " Humor-
istische Variationen," which, as we find from the diary,
were originated in the hours of a sleepless night. *' Unwell
and restless as 1 was, the intellectual employment diverted
my thoughts." ....

Ernst Pauer is here, a star in our musical firmament ;
with his light touch and light heart, he is very sympathetic
to us. His stay of eight-and-forty hours was much too short
for us ; but how can a great London professional devote
more time to an appearance at the Gewandhaus .'* In Beet-
hoven's ' Concerto in G,' he developed his full technical
powers, and I was much interested to find that Haslinger
has allowed him to copy the original Manuscript Cadenzas
by Beethoven which he had lent me on a former occasion,
although he would never publish them. I do not think
them up to the exalted level of the grand Concerto, and dis-
card them in consequence. Pauer played one, without mak-
ing any marked effect with it, not a soul asked who wrote
it ; in fact the Cadenzas do not bear the stamp of Beethoven's

genius We heard Beethoven's ' Men of Prometheus,'

a work that certainly reminds one of his earliest time, but
is redolent of the noble spirit of the master ; then Schu-
mann's overture to ' Hermann and Dorothea,' breathmg
poetry throughout.

" The influx of pianists is as large as ever. I confess I
am annoyed when such birds oi passage come pecking sen-
timentally at my Erard, or boldly smashing a chord or two.
They show no Guriosity to hear how I would treat the poor
thing, in fact to them I am simply dead ; they do not see
that music is still to me as my own life-blood, and while
they are burying me, I am quietly feeding on the Toccatas



BIRDS OF PA SSA GE. 3^3

and Fugues of old Bach, the moderns, too, furnish an occa-
sional meal. I have just fetched the scores of some of
Liszt's works ; his ' Preludes' and ' Mazeppa' will be per-
iormed here, and I must have studied them thoroughly be-
forehand." The performances alluded to are commented
on in the following letter: " The Weimar folk have fought
a battle with the Leipzigers ; but there were no slain, only
a few wounded. Liszt is reported to have said before the
concert: 'I suppose they will prepare a defeat for me,' but
they did no such thing. He conducted his 'Preludes,'
which, although rather obscure, have many grand effects.
His stormy ' Mazeppa' music, and his pianoforte Concerto,
played with extraordinary power by Balow, were warmly
but not enthusiastically received.

" Behr gave for his benefit the ' Tannhauser,' under
Liszt's direction, some of the Weimar company assisting.
My chief objection to the innovators is that they aspire to go
beyond Beethoven, and altogether dethrone Mozart and
Haydn, hitherto the acknowledged keystones to the founda-
tion of music ; of course, we lesser lights are to be buried
under the ruins of the tottering temples, and I for my part
consider myself honored by such sepulture ; who knows if
we shall not some day or other be dug up like Herculaneum
and Pompeii?"

" Yesterday Louis Brassin played in the Gewandhaus my
C minor Concerto, with so much roundness of touch and
warmth that he earned great applause, although his amazing
execution in the last movement made him run away with the
'tempo.' Concerfmeister Mailer of Brunswick, and Stern
from Berlin, who were present, hailed him as a citizen of the
musical commonwealth. They would not do as much for
S., whose compositions I am just reading through, but the
greedy ogres, who require enormous quantities of notes for
their daily consumption, will welcome him to their common-
wealth with open mouths."

" You know how my father reads through,'''* adds Felix.
" At every not quite orthodox bar he stands stock-still, leav-
ing the guilty chord to do penance in the purgatory of his
displeasure ; till, after all the tortures of suspense, it is at
last released, and may chime in with the loyal and virtuous
chords in the Paradise of Harmony."

'7*



394 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

" New Year's Day (1858) I had a charming present — an
original picture of Mozart, taken in the musician's early
days in Italy. I at Oijce stored away the treasure in my al-
bum, close to the autograph Cadenza of the master.

" We had a new overture by Reinecke, and heard his
Trio and Variations (^n a theme by Bach, which he played
at the Quartet Meetings. He is a thorough musician, and
we may hope great things of him. A young composer, Max
Bruch, showed me a number of Studies he has lately written.
His Lieder are finely felt, and the two Cantatas, 'Rinaldo'
and 'Jubilate' are fresh and original compositions. Arthur
Sullivan, a lad of great promise, has been sent here for his
musical education. He has already distinguished himself
by winning the Mendelssohn Scholarship recently founded
in London, and I feel sure he will do credit to England."
We may here state that Moscheles took the liveliest interest
in the career of the ' first Mendelssohn Scholar* and treated
hmi invariably with marked kindness. The success of the
' Tempest Music' gave Moscheles sincere pleasure, and he
regarded it as the inauguration of a genuine artist-career.

David had conceived the idea of arranging for the violin
the "Twenty-four Studies" of Moscheles, who himself wrote
the pianoforte accompaniments. Besides this, Moscheles
prepared a new edition of the Clementi Sonatas, and the
" Gradus ad Parnassum*' for Hallberger. " They shall
not make blunders for v.ant of a proper system of fingering,
or strict marking of the expression and tempi," he used to
say, " so I conscientiously consult all previous editions."
He also revised the catalogue of his works for publication
by Kistner."*

In July the Conservatoire of Prague celebrates its jubilee,
and the sister institute of Leipzig sends David and Mos-
cheles with congratulations ; we can well realize the feelings
of Moscheles on visiting his native city, from which fifty
years before he had gone forth full of hope to begin the
battle of life, and we can picture to ourselves the pride of
his compatriots and the cordial way in which they received
him. When the busy days of fetes and concerts were over,
the Moscheles set out for Dresden, on their way to Antwerp.

* We give, at the end of the volume, a translation of the complete
catalogue.



VISIT TO ANTWERP.



395



" Our journey might have been very unpleasant, for the
rain poured in torrents, but what do wandering minstrels
care about the weather? There is ever sunshine in art.
We managed to get a coupe to ourselves, and David, who
never separates from his violin, played all the finer for the
obligato steam accompaniment ; we had one Concerto
after another, and then he tried passages from the ' Stud-
ies.' The hours flew past, and before we were aware of it
we found ourselves in Dresden."

The summer holidays of this year Moscheles spent at
Antwerp, on a visit to his son, and many were the valued
friends who welcomed him. He was thoroughly at home
among the art-treasures of the old city, and daily associated
with such men as De Keyser, Leys, Van Lerius, Jacob
Jacobs, Alma Tadema, Lies, Bource, and Heyermanns.
At Brussels he was cordially greeted by Fetis, Kufiferath,
L'onard and others, and proceeding through the Ardennes,
pays a short visit to the little town of Huy. Mrs. Mos-
cheles says : "One can scarcely get along in the streets
from the flowers, flags, barrel-organs, and festive decora-
tions. It was the septennial ' Ftite de la Vierge.' After
reading the announcement of a 'Concours de Chant,' and a
Concert to be given by the famous royal band, the ' Guides
du Roi,' Moscheles sent his card to the Director, to ask for
tickets, which, it was said, had been all bought up. Five
minutes later this gentleman arrived, and would not leave
till Moscheles had promised him to preside over the ' Jury
des Concours de Chant.'"

" My duty as a Juryman rather taxed my powers of
endurance, as for eight hours we sat on a high platform in
the open market-place with the sun scorching us. Round
about us was the band, a surging crowd, and a host of fash-
ionables ; it was a very animated scene. The Choral
Unions, one after another, marched up to the front, banners
unfurled, and sang. Not one could be called bad ; several
were really good."

The Schiller Festival and the King's birthday happen-
ing to be solemnized on the same day, Moscheles was asked
by the Committee if he would allow his overture to the
" Maid of Orleans" to be performed on the occasion. " I
refused." he says, "on account of the inferior orchestia, and



39<5



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS,



proposed as a substitute that Mertke, my clever pupil,
should play my Fantasia on Schiller's ' Sehnsucht,' and I
promised at the same time to write a brilliant piece on
Schiller's poem, the 'Tanz.'" The piece composed origi-
rally for one performer, he subsequently arranged for four
hands, and presented the copyright o^ the work to the
Schiller "Stiftung."

"A grand musical tournament is coming off at Leipzig.
The Neue Zeitschrift f \r Musik celebrates in June its twenty-
fifth anniversary, and the faction, the principles of which
are chiefly represented by this journal, has a grand gathering
-of artists to commemorate the event. The Riedel Choral
Union is studying with great zeal the ' Graner Mass' for
the occasion, and I have accepted an invitation to become
a member of the Committee of Management. Programmes
of the Festival are distributed, and the performances an-
nounced in all directions. Liszt, appearing for a short
visit to Leipzig in May, persuades Moscheles to join him in
playing his 'Hommage a Handel' at the Festival. He says
that I, as one of the pillars of pianoforte-playing, am indis-
pensable. I call myself the connecting link between the
old and the new school."

Shortly afterwards Moscheles had an opportunity of
returning Liszt's visit at Weimar. He writes : " Liszt sat
down to the piano, and I heard, to my no small astonish-
ment, my old Op. 42, Variations on the pretty Austrian
melody




which I had consigned to oblivion for the last forty years.
He played them by heart, and introduced startling effects.
He then gave us his own organ Fantasia on the letters
B-a-c-h, a piece full of extraordinary combinations, and
stupendously played

The next meeting was again at Leipzig. " I invited
several of my colleagues to meet Liszt at dinner ; it was a
regular artistic gathering. After dinner Liszt^ puffing his
cigar, rummaged among my music, and found my 'Tanz'



LISZ:



397



and the 'Humoristische Variationen ;' he made me sit down
there and then and play them with him. It was a genuine
treat to draw sparks from the piano as we dashed along
together. Liszt's genius seemed to culminate when he
played my old ' Variations,' and finally, my ' Sonate Melan-
cholique.' I wish I could equally admire his style of com-
position, but there stands the barrier to a perfect artistic

intimacy A number of our musical visitors, with

Liszt at their head, called on me the other day to hear me
play ; they wanted to take the measure of an old fashioned
pianist ; but old-fashioned or not, my relations with Liszt
are most cordial, and we know exactly how far we are on
common ground ; when we are harnessed together in a
duet, we make a very good pair ; Apollo drives us without
whip."

" The crash and din of war have nearly driven out of
my head the music of the future. Only last May I wrote
my ' Patriotic March,' in which I introduced the Austrian
' Volkslied' and the Prussian air, Lutzkow's ' Wilde Jagd,'
dealing first of all with each subject separately, and then
cordially interweaving the two together. Alas ! the union
of our two leading states seems more hopeless than ever,
so I, an old musician, have reckoned without my host.
.... Talking of compositions, my dear Clara, I am glad
to hear of your zeal and progress in the art of transposing ;
but do not jump from one thing to another in your attempts
at composition. I recommend you always to express some
one definite thought, be it serious or gay, cheerful or anx-
ious ; when you have succeeded in doing this in short
pieces, you may venture upon more important ones, in
which a succession of dramatic ideas may alternate. Think
always of a scene taken from real life, and despise using
merely mechanical means for the purpose of producing an
effect. The technical power should only serve as a means
to heighten the effect of the principal idea, and give it
strength and individuality. Your handwriting is much
improved, but I have still to set the heads of many of your
notes to rights for the sake of distinctness. Avis au lec-
teur." "You will be sorry to hear that Rietz is go-
ing to leave us and take up his abcde in Dresden ; I do
not know what we shall do without him. But what say you



398



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



to — , who is just arrived from Paris ? I asked him if he
had ever seen 'Orfeo?' Answer : 'Yes ; it is a sparkling
little operetta, and has had a long run.' But I mean the
real ' Orfeo.' Answer : ' Never heard of it.' And this too
after Madame Viardot has sung it already half a hundred
times in Paris. You know how strenuously I have always
opposed the 'reviewing' in musical newspapers, to which
some pupils have lately devoted themselves, also how very
averse Mendelssohn was to the practice. The following
poem is grist to our mill. I found it in Gutskow's ' Unter-
haltungen am hiiuslichen Heerd' : —

DEM ZUKUNFTSMUSIKER VON LUDWIG SEEGER.

Welch tolle Laune plagt den Mann
Beim Handwork nicht zu bleiben?
Wer singen und Laute spielen kann,
Was braucht der Biicher zu schreiben ?

Wer zu dem Schwerte greift, der fallt
Durch's Schwert, das merk' sich Jeder,
Wer durch die Feder siindigt, erhalt
Ein Urtheil durch die Feder.

Die Zukunftsgrillen verscheuche sie.
Lass Andre sich kritisch befeliden !
Dein ist die That, die Melodic,
Die Andern mogen reden.

TO THE MUSICIAN OF THE FUTURE,

BY LUDWIG SEEGER.

Why, hair-brained Cobbler, leave your last?
Why, Carpenter, your hammer?
Ye Singers sing, ye Players play.
Why write a Latin Grammar ?

The Bobadils. who cut and slash.

Are felled by their pursuers :
A critic brains his brother ; both

Are " Saturday Reviewers."

Let others " but offend their lungs

By talking" loud detraction.
Find ye in melody your balm.

And happiness in action.



VISIT TO PARIS,



399



In the summer of i860 Moscheles spent liis holidays in
Paris. He writes, " The Erards, Cremieux, and Madame
Viardot overwhelm me with kindness, and seem rather anx-
ious to know how the Moscheles of old days adapts himself
to the new style of pianoforte-playing. When the people
cry me up, I think to myself, ' Rabattez la moitie et march-
andez sur le reste,' At my Matinee I translated into cor-
rect prose the flowery epithets heaped on me, like bouquets

on a ballet-dancer For the impending ' Concours du

Conservatoire' Herz has given my E flat Concerto to the
pupils to study, but alas ! in what a broken, fragmentary
fashion, Auber, the director, does not allow more than
four or five minutes to each pupil for his playing at the
' Concours' \ eight bars, therefore, are taken from the * tutti'
and the half of the first solo jumbled together with the sec-
ond half of the third. How is it possible to test by such
a process the capabilities of the performer ? I was invited
to sit on the jury with Auber, Ambroise Thomas, and oth-
ers, but declined ; now I am beset with troops of fair pian-
istes about to contend for the prize, who wish me to hear
their rendering of my dislocated Concerto. Like jockeys
before the race, they all hope to get the first prize, and ask
for my protection, as one asks for a vote when canvassing

for a seat in Parliament I have tried many fine

pianos at the different warehouses, among others, those of
Pleyel ; their quality surprised me, arid I am to have an
opportunity of further appreciating them, as the firm has
most liberally offered to send me one of their finest to Leip-
zig. George Pfeiffer, one of the partners, is a first-rate
pianist, who has already written very excellent things."'
On one of the earliest days of his stay in Paris, Moscheles
drives over with his son to Passy, to visit Rossini.

" Felix had been made quite at home in the Villa on
former occasions. To me the ' Parterre Salon,' with its
rich furniture, was new, and before the Maestro himself ap-
peared, we looked at his photograph in a circular porcelain
frame, on the sides of which were inscribed the names of
his works. The ceiling is covered with pictures illustrating
scenes out of Palestrina's and Mozart's lives; in the middle
of the room stands a Pleyel piano. When Rossini came in
he gave me the orthodox Italian kiss, and was effusive in



400



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



expressions of delight at my re- appearance, and very com-
plimentary on the subject of Felix. In course of our con-
versation he was full of hard hitting truths, and brilliant
satire on the present study and method of vocalization. * I
don't want to hear anything more of it,' he si.^id, * they
scream ! All that I want is a resonant, full toned, not a
screeching voice, I care not whether it be for speaking or
singing ; everything ought to sound melodious. He then
spoke of the pleasure he felt in studying the piano ; and ' if
it were not presumption' (he added), 'in composing for that
instrument ; in playing, however, his fourth and fifth fingers
would not do their duty properly.' He complains that the
piano is, now-a-days, only maltreated. ' They not only
thump the piano, but the armchair, and even the floor.'
He then talked of the specialties of the different instru-
ments, and said that the guitarist Sor, and the mandoline-
player, Vimercati, proved the possibility of obtaining great
artistic results with slender means. I happened to have
heard both these artists, and could quite endorse his views.
He told me that, arriving late one evening at a small Ital-
ian town, he had already retired to rest when Vimercati,
the resident Kapellmeister, sent him an invitation to be
present at a performance of one of his operas. In those
days he was not yet as hard-hearted as he is now, when he
persistently refuses to be present at a performance of his
works ; he not only went to the theatre, but played the
double bass as a substitute for the right man, who was not
forthcoming. This reminded me of what I once experi-
enced to my cost at York, when the parts of the tenor and
the lowest bassoon for Mozart's Symphony in D Major were
missing. On the piano I showed Rossini what the effect
was. He laughed heartily, and then asked for a little real
music : after 1 had extemporized, he said : ' Is that print-
ed ? It is music that flows from the fountain head. There
is reservoir water and spring water; the former only runs
when you turn the cock, and is always redolent of the vase,
the latter always gushes forth fresh and limpid. Now-a-
days people confound the simple and the trivial ; a motif
of Mozart they would call trivial if they dared.' When we
talked of the Leipzig ' Conservatoire,' he was delighted to
hear that encouragement was given to the serious study of



JiOSSINI.



401



organ-playing, and he complained of the decay of Church
music in Italy. He was quite enthusiastic on the subject
of Marcello's and Palestrina's sublime creations. Before
we parted he made me promise to call on him again before
the day fixed upon to dine with him. When I next came,
Rossini, yielding to my request, but not without modestly ex-
pressing diffidence in his own powers, played an Andante
in B flat, beginning somewhat in this style :



g



^



i



8va.



in which, after the first eight bars, the following interesting
modulation was introduced :




The piece is what we Germans would call tame. He then
showed me two manuscript compositions, an Introduction
and Fugue in C major, and a sort of pastoral Fantasia, with
a brilliant Rondo in A major, which I had to play him.
When laddedajjfto the manuscript, he declared ' it was
worth gold to him. ' Clara, who was with me, and had al-
ready mustered up courage sufficient to sing my ' Frdh-
lingslied' and ' Botschaft,' to Rossini's satisfaction, was
obliged to repeat both songs before the singers Ponchard
and Levasseur, who had just stepped in. I accompanied,
and in answer to Rossini's observation that I had enough
flow of melody to write an opera, rejoined, ' What a pity
that I am not young enough to become your pupil ! ' I
then had to play from his manuscripts, and that raised me
' to the kingship of pianists.' ' Whatever I am,' I replied,
' is due to the old school, the old master Clementi,' and on
my mentioning that name, Rossini goes to the piano, and
plays by heart fragments out of his Sonatas.' ". . . .

On other occasions Moscheles plays to the Maestro,
who insists on having discovered barricades in the *'humor-
istic variations," so boldly do they seem to raise the stand*



4o:



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



ard of musical revolution ; his title of the *' Grande Valse^'
he finds too unassuming. '• Surely a waltz wilh some an-
gelic creature must have inspired you, Moscheles, with this
composition, and that the title ought to express. Titles, in
fact, should pique the curiosity of the public." '' A view
uncongenial to me," adds Moscheles, '' however I did not

discuss it A dinner at Rossini's is calculated for

the enjoyment of a ' gourmet,' and he himself proved to be
one, for he went through the very select menu as only a
connoisseur would. After dinner he looked through my
album of musical autographs with the greatest interest, and
finally we became very merry, I producing my musical
jokes on the piano, and J^elix and Clara figuring in the
duet which I had written for her voice, and his imitation of
the French horn. Rossini cheered lustily, and so one joke
followed another till we received the parting kiss and 'good
night.' .... At my next visit, Rossini showed me a
charming ' Lied ohne Worte,' which he composed only
yesterday ; a graceful melody is embodied in the well-
known technical form. Alluding to a performance of
' Semiramide,' he said with a malicious smile, ' I suppose
you saw the beautiful decorations in it t ' He has not re-
ceived the Sisters Marchisio for fear they should sing to
him, nor has he heard them in the theatre ; he spoke
warmly of Pasta, Lablache, Rubini, and others, then he
added that I ought not to look with jealousy upon his bud-
ding talent as a pianoforte-player, but that, on the con-
trary, I should help to establish his reputation as such in
Leipzig. He again questioned me with much interest
about my intimacy with Clementi, and calling me that
master's worthy successor, he said he should Hke to visit
me in Leipzig, if it were not for those dreadful railways,
which he would never travel by. All this in his bright and
lively way, but when we came to discuss Chevet, who
wishes to supplant musical notes by ciphers, he maintained
in an earnest and dogmatic tone that the system of notation,
as it had developed itself since Pope Gregory's time, was
sufficient for all musical requirements. He certainly could
not withhold some appreciation for Chevet, but refused to
endorse the certiticate granted by the Institute in his favor;
the system he thought impracticable.



ROSSINI.



403



The never-failing stream of conversation flowed on until
eleven o'clock, when I was favored with the inevitable kiss,
which on this occasion was accompanied by special fare-
well blessings.

Shortly after Moscheles had left Paris, his son forwarded
to him most friendly messages from Rossini, and continues
thus : "Rossini sends you word that he is working hard at
the piano, and when you next come to Paris, you shall find

him m better practice The conversation turning

upon German music, I asked him ' which was his favorite
among the great masters ? ' Of Beethoven he said : ' I
take him twice a week, Haydn four times, and Mozart
every day. You will tell me that Beethoven is a Colossus
who often gives you a dig in the ribs, while Mozart is al-
ways adorable ; it is that the latter had the chance of going
very young to Italy, at a time when they still sang well.'
Of Weber he says, ' He has talent enough, and to spare'
(II a du talent a revendre celui-1 1). He told me in refer-
ence to him, that when the part of 'Tancred' was sung at
Berlin by a bass voice, Weber had written violent articles
not only against the management, but against the composer,
so that when Weber came to Paris, he did not venture to
call on Rossini, who, however let him know that he bore
him no grudge for having made these attacks ; on receipt
of that message Weber called and they became acquainted.

" I asked him if he had met Byron in Venice ? ' Only
in a Restaurant,' was the answer, ' where I was introduced
to him ; our acquaintance, therefore, was very slight ; it
seems he has spoken of me, but I don't know what he
says.' I translated for him in a somewhat milder fonn, By-
ron's words, which happened to be fresh in my memory :
' They have been crucifying Othello into an Opera, the
music good but lugubrious, but, as for the words, all the
real scenes with I ago cut out, and the greatest nonsense
instead, the handkerchief turned into a billet-doux, and the
first singer would not black his face — singing, dresses, and
music very good.' The Maestro regretted his ignorance of
the English language, and said, ' In my day I gave much
time to the study of our Italian literature. Dante is the
man I owe most to ; he taught me more music than all
my music-masters put together, and when I wrote my



404



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



Otello' I would introduce those lines of Dante — you know
— the song of the Gondolier. My librettist would have it
that gondoliers never sang Dante, and but rarely Tasso,
but I answered him, ' I know all about that better than
you, for I have lived in Venice, and you haven't. Dante I
must and will have.' From the sublime to the ridiculous,
we came to discuss my drawing of the Sisters Marchisio,
and Rossini showed me the title-page of the duet out of
* Semiramide,' on which they are represented. He has at
last condescended to receive them ; they have sung to him,
more than that, he has written a piece for them, and I am
soon to meet them at his house. Rossini has in the kind-
est way composed a piece expressly for my imitation of the
French horn, and written it into my album ; it is exactly
adapted to my voice, or rather to my blowing powers.
Above is this inscription :

" Theme of Rossini, followed by two variations and Coda
by Moscheles plre," offered to my young friend Felix Mos-
cheles.

"G. Rossini, Passy, 20th August, i860."

On receipt of a copy of this piece, which was forwarded
to Moscheles, he at once carried out Rossini's suggestion,
and after writing the * Two Variations and Coda,' asked the
Maestro's permission to dedicate to him the work in the
amended form. The following answer was received : —

" Paris, Passy, 1861.

* MoN Maitre (de Piano) et Ami, —

" Permettez moi de vous remercier de voire aimable let-
tre. Rien ne pouvait ni ne devait m't'tre plus agreable, plus
flatteur, qu'une dt-dicace de vous. Ce temoignage de votre
affection est d'un prix inestimable a mes yeux, je vous en
remercie avec toute la chaleur qui me reste, et qui n'a
point encore glace mon vieux coeur.

" Vous me demandez I'autorisation de faire graver le
petit theme que j'ai note pour votre cher fils ; — elle vous
est accordee. Rien de plus honorable, cher ami, que d'as-
socier mon nom au votre dans cette petite publication, mais,
helas ! quel est le role que vous me faites jouer en si glorieux
mariage ? Celui du compositeur vous octroyant a vous, le



MOSCIIELES' REPLY,



405



grande patriarche, I'exclusif du pianiste. Pourquoi ne vou-
lez-vous done pas m'admettre dans la grande famille un de
plus, hein ! quoique je me sois place trcs modestement (mais
non sans vive peine) dans la categorie de pianiste de 46^6
classe ? Voulez-vous done, cher Moseheles, me faire mourir
de chagrin ?

" Vous y reussirez, vous autres grands pianistes, en me
traitant en Paria, oui, vous serez responsables, devant Dieu
Lt devant les hommes, de ma mort.

" Veuillez me rappeler au souvenir de Mme. etdes chers
enfants, en agreant pour vous I'affection sincere de votre
ami de coeur,

"G. Rossini."*

Here is an extract from Moscheles' reply : " Mon cher
Maitre ! Savez-vous quel est mon numero favori ? C'est le
numtro 4 ; nous lui devons I'harmonie la plus parfaite ; 4
voix humaines, les quatre instruments du Quatuor, le pian
iste enfin de 4^°^^ classe, qui en lui seul represente I'harmonie
de toutes les voix et de tons les instruments. N'allez pas
me dire, cher MaUre, que vous detestez le meme numero 4,

* Paris, Passy, i86l
My Master(of Piano) and Friend, —

Permit me to thank you for your charming letter. Nothing could
or would be more agreeable to me, or more flattering, than a dedication
from you. This testimony of your affection is of inestimable value in
my eyes ; I thank you for it with all the warmth that remains in me,
and which has not yet frozen my old heart.

You ask me for authority to print the little melody which I have
written for your dear son — it is granted. Nothing could do me more
honor, dear friend, than to associate my name with yours in this little
publication, but alas ! what is the part you make me play in so glorious
a marriage? That of the composer making over to you a monopoly of
the titles : " Grand Patriarch and Master of Pianoforte playing." Why
on earth will you not admit me one member more in the great family,
although I have placed myself very modestly (but not without infinite
pains) in the category of pianists of the 4th class ? Or do you mean,
my dear Moscheles, to make me die of vexation .'•

That's what you will accomplish, all you great pianists, by treating
me as a Pariah ; yes, you will be responsible before God and man for
my death.

My kindest remembrances to Madame and the dear children, and
believe me in all sincerity your affectionate friend,

G. Rossini.



406 RECENT MTJSTC AND MUSICIANS.

puisque c'est la 4^™^ lettre que je vous tcris depuis peu
puisque c'est le a^^'^- protJgj que j'autorise 11 frapper ii
votre porte hospitaliere." * . . . .

On his return to Leipzig, Moscheles says : " Reinecke
has just entered on his duties as Director of the Gewand-
haus Concerts, and begins well by inaugurating his reign
with a programme in which the music of the old masters is
conspicuous." The Musical Society of London sends a
complimentary letter enclosing Moscheles a diploma of
honorary membership. He composes a Toccata in F sharp
minor for the Mozart album, a two part Christmas song, and
observes in a letter to a friend : " I should write music on a
larger scale for my instrument, were it not that I am con-
vinced that people now-a-days will not care to play such com-
positions. Only Beethoven's, Mendelssohn's, Schumann's,
and Chopin's Concertos are now the fashion, Mozart and
Hummel are completely ignpred. Of my eight Concertos,
that in G minor is becoming every day a greater rarity as
an item in programmes. I flatter myself that my ' Character-
istic Studies,' my ' Grande Valse,' and some of my other
compositions, might hold their own as Bravura pieces, that
my * Nurseiy Tale ' and my Study in A flat could sing in
competition with the modern Notturnos ; but not one of my
colleagues plays them in public. I no longer appear at con-
certs, and — to speak with Byron — ' I still hold myself too
good for the sexton of authorship, the trunkmaker.' Should
the rats and mice want such food to gnaw, it shall not be
music of mine as long as I am alive. Consequently, at in-
tervals, I compose a piece for a charity concert, or write
Lieder and smaller pieces for home use for the grancchil-
dren. I indulge myself in this kind of desultory v/ork, not
from loss of power, but from a feeling of pride. The old
year (i860) is waning, but let me whisper into your ears
this my musical confession."

* My dear Master, — Do you know what is my favorite number?
It is number four ; we owe to it the most perfect harmony, the four hu-
man voices, the four instruments of the quartet, and though last, rot
least, the pianist of the fourth class, who in himself represents the har-
mony of all voices and all instruments. Do not tell me, dear Master,
that you detest that same number four, since it is the fourth letter that
I have recently written to you, since it is the fourth protege that I au-
thorize to knock at your hospitable door.



CHAPTER XXXVI.

1861— 1870.

Ovation to Concertmeister David — Sebastian Bach's Preludes — Visit to
London — Mazzini — The Goldschmidts — Modern Music — Gounod's
" Faust" — A Musical Treasure — Korner — Anniversary of the Bat-
tle of Leipzig — War between Austria and Prussia — Handel Festi-
val in London — Wagner's " Meistersanger" — Visit to Belgrade
— Illness — Strange Dream — Death of Moscheles.

A WELL merited ovation was given to Concertmeister
David, on the 25th anniversary of his appointment at
the Leipzig Conservatoire, and the members of the Ge-
wandhaus joined with his pupils and friends to do him hon-
pr on the auspicious occasion. " When I congratulated
him," writes Moscheles, " he showed me the letter in which
Felix Mendelssohn offered him the post of Concertmeister ;
,this, like everything from his pen, is charming both in feel-
ing and expression. Surely his letters breathe as noble a
spirit as his works, and how his youthful artistic spirit
seems to brighten and expand under the genial influence of
his first experiences of Italy ! He enjoys everything doub-
ly, keenly alive as he is to the beauties of the sunny south,
and grateful for the parental sanction at last vouchsafed
to his plans of travel. What a sensation these ' Reise-
briefe' will create. 1 should like to give them the title-
' School for the artist and man.'

"My pupils, Dannreuther, Lienau, and Miss Schiller
give me great delight, the Trial Concerts came off brilliant-
ly ; Sullivan's music to Shakespeare's 'Tempest' sounded
fresh and clear, and the composer was, as he deserved to
be, unanimously called forward at the end. ... I cannot
approve of the ' broderies' in Liszt's arrangement of the
Mendelssohn ' Midsummer Night's Dream,' they are about
as much in keeping as a crinoline would be on the Venus
of Milo At David's I saw six or eight MS. Quar-



408 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

tets and Quintets by Beethoven ; they belong to Paul Men
delssohn, who lent them to David to edit for Breitkopf
and Hartel ; they contain a precious mine of inspiration,
even in the erased passages or single notes."

It was in this year (1861) that Moscheles became ac-
quainted with Gounod's Violoncello Obligato to the first
of Sebastian Bach's famous " Forty-eight Preludes." The
idea, so happily treated in this instance, suggested to him
the setting of some of the other " Preludes" with melodies
for the violoncello ; these were subsequently re-arranged
with increased effect for two pianos. This work was to
Moscheles a labor of love, although he was severely cen-
sured by some pianists, who questioned the propriety of
making additions to Bach ; the majority however of ama-
teurs and art-judges were charmed with the orchestral
effects and the contrapuntal treatment of these composi-
tions.

Moscheles thus states his owm opinion : " I am praised
or soundly rated for my setting of these ' Preludes,' but pos-
sibly my Melodies may promote the study of these works
among students, who, in the absence of the accompani-
ments, would find them dry and unattractive. If so, shall I
be perfectly satisfied ; a deeper insight into Bach's works
cannot fail to further the progress of art. While setting
these melodies, I am in the same position as our romance
writers, who can ventilate an important question of the day
more effectively in some fictitious disguise than in a dry
treatise."

During the season of 1861, Moscheles once more visits
London, and, yielding to the persuasions of his old friends,
the Directors of the Philharmonic Society, agrees to play
at one of their concerts, giving them to understand that he
wished to do so as a friend, and not as a professional. He
had not appeared before the English public for fifteen
years, and observing an anxious look on his wife's face as
she came into the room on the evening of the Concert, he
cheered her up with the words : " Surely you feel no mis-
givings : I intend to play like my former self, and do you
honor. At the rehearsal, no doubt, I was rather upset by
their affectionate demonstrations, but to-night no amount
ol fiddle-bow rapping, or the like, shall unnerve me, so pray



VISIT TO LONDON. 4O9

do not distress yourself." He was as good as his word.
The storm of cheers and waving of handkerchiefs, when he
appeared, only served to animate him, and he played so
finely that his friends eagerly congratulated him on a per-
formance quite on a level with those of his best days.

Notwithstanding the busy life Moscheles led during his
stay in London, surrounded as he was by a host of friends,
with claims on his time and attention, he found leisure for
keeping up his correspondence, a duty at all times pleasant
to him. ..." In answer to a question about Beethoven's
sentiments on the subject of religion, I am under the im-
pression that he was a Catholic, but a free-thinker at the
same time. Of his piety I have no doubt, for his music
speaks to the hearts of all nations, just as the sacred works
of a Bach, a Mozart, or Mendelssohn do. Talking of free-
thinkers, let me tell you of my acquaintance with Mazzini.
Felix is painting a portrait of him, and so I have plenty of
opportunities of meeting him. I had formed an utterly
mistaken idea in my estimate of one whom I had always
heard cried down as a conspirator ; he seems to me agree-
able and unassuming ; his conversation even on the subject
of politics is mild and apparently inoffensive ; he is keenly
interested in the subject of music. As a proof of this, I
may tell you that his guitar is his inseparable companion,
even in his hiding-places, and Meyerbeer is his favorite
composer. Cavour's death. Garibaldi's illness, the quasi
imprisonment of the Pope — on all these matters he dis-
courses, and ends invariably with an observation of this
kind : ' Providence is sure to do all for the best' He lives
in rooms of the plainest description, in Onslow Terrace,
and goes by the name of ' Ernesti ; ' everything about him
savors of Republicanism ; the only luxury he seems to in-
dulge in is that of smoking cigars ad libitu7n. From Maz-
zini's rooms to Argyle Lodge, where the Goldschmidts re-
side, is rather a leap ; elegance and comfort rule here ;
there is no oppressive luxury, and one feels quite at home.
And then the music. With Otto Goldschmidt I played my
* Hommage a Handel,' and that too without having in any
way to sacrifice my artistic convictions ; on the contrary I
felt that I was understood, and joined by him in my con-
ceptions. We also played the Bach Preludes, and he
18



4IO RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

warmly expressed his approval of the idea and its execii'
tion. Madame Goldschmidt's voice is as fine as ever ; if
anything could enhance the pleasure her singing gives me,
it would be to hear her, as I did the other day, in her own
drawing-room. I reminded her of her last appearance at
the Gewandhaus Concert, when she electrified us with a
certain Cadenza, which recurs three times in one of Chop-
in's Mazurkas :




^«L^_^-_,



" I know many think me old-fashioned, but the more 1

consider the tendency of modern taste, and the abrupt and
glaring contrasts indulged in by many composers of the
present day, the more strenuously will I uphold that which
I know to be sound art, and side with those who can ap-
preciate a Haydn's playfiilness, a Mozart's Cantilena, and
a Beethoven's surpassing ^randeur. What antidotes have
we here for all these morbid moanings and overwrought
effects ! When I hear one of old Sebastian Bach's glorious
fugues in the midst of all these fantasias, I accept it as a
kind of musical peace-offering ; not that I am completely
reconciled, for it is usually taken 'Prestissimo.' Here as
elsewhere I miss the right 'Tempi,' and look in vain for
the traditions of my youth. That tearing speed which
sweeps away many a little note ; that spinning out of an
Andante until it becomes an Adagio, an 'Andante con
moto,' in which there is no 'moto' at all, an ' Allegro co-
modo ' which is anything but comfortable — all such anom-
alies mar my enjoyment.

" At Boulogne, the other evening, a pianoforte-player
brought me a Notturno of so restless a description that it
threatened to disturb my nocturnal rest; he calls it too
learned for Paris, 1 call it not learned enough for Germany,



GO UIVOD'S " FA US T." 4 1 1

T gladly allow that he and his colleagues have a special
aptitude for transferring the melodious Italian element to
pianoforte pieces, but such music becomes very wearisome
to the genume musician, and can only be tolerated by those
whose ears and feelings are accustomed to the ' dolce far
niente.' When he told me he thought the German music
was too dry and learned, I played him scraps from Mozart,
Beethoven and Mendelssohn ; there I had him. At last
he said, ' But those were men of genius,' to which I replied,
'No doubt, and only men of genius ought to compose ; oth-
ers should study the great masters until a portion of their
spirit falls upon them.'

" In Gounod I hail a real composer. I have heard his
' Faust ' both at Leipzig and Dresden, and am charmed
with that refined piquant music. Critics may rave^ if they
like, against the mutilation of Goethe's masterpiece, the
Opera is sure to attract, for it is a fresh, interesting work,
with a copious flow of melody and lovely instrumentation."

In the summer of 1863, Moscheles and his family were
at Loschwitz, and found an interesting neighbor in Kapell-
meister Dorn, who happened to be the possessor of Mozart's
original score of the opera of " Figaro," which was ultimate-
ly purchased by the firm of Simrock for the sum of 800
thalers. " He told me that the father of a Mr. Schurig, a
music-master in Dresden, had bought this treasure from a
wandering operatic company for a mere trifle, and that it
had been bequeathed to the son in the ordinary way."
There before my eyes were the immortal notes, thrown
down off" hand upon score-paper with fourteen lines, the
Italian text and Recitatives in Mozart's handwriting, the
German translation written in by another hand. I longed
to be wealthy enough to buy this jewel at the high price
put upon it by its present possessor. The pianoforte edi-
tion (Simrock's) occasionally differs from the original, as,
for instance, in the Cavatina of the page *' Non so pia."
Curiously enough, I have just now had in my hands the
manuscript of another immortal work, the autograph score
of the ' Zauberflote ' which Andre showed me forty years
ago in Offenbach. Count Baudissin asks me to examine
it, and vouch for its authenticity to Count Ratzan, who is
in treaty for purchasing this treasure. Every bar of the



412



RFXENT MUSrC AND MUSICIANS.



music is evidence of the divine inspiration and truth of
Mozart ; the alterations are very interesting ; two bars of
solo in the overture are erased, and in the duet, * Bel Man-
nern,' the Tempo is changed from 6-8 to 3-8."

Of Moscheles' scrupulous conscientiousness in editing
the works of great musicians, we have had many proofs in
the course of this narrative ; the house of Peters was in-
debted to him for the loan of a manuscript copy of Bach's
Prelude and Fugue in C, as well as that of the Trio in A
minor, by the same master, so anxious was the owner of
the autograph that the public should have correct versions
of the best works. His knowledge of Beethoven's music
was extraordinarily accurate ; we read in the diary : *' Beet-
hoven's Quintet was played the other day in the Gewand-
haus ; in this passage



P



T=^



i! ^-^ "^ , y ?



■^— i-



^



I heard an intercalated note, which was strange to me ; thus —



$



■It.



-f-?-



O"



:^^



■^')-



I examined the original score, and found that Beethoven
added this quaver for the violoncello."

His powers of musical analysis were occasionally put to
the test in a less agreeable way. He writes on the 26th of
August: "Of course the Kurner Festival interests me ; it
not only ap))eals to my patriotic feelings, but reminds me
of my intercourse with Kurner in old Vienna days. I knew
him when he was writing his drama 'Toni,'for Friiulein
Adamberger. To-day all the Guilds turned out, and I fol-
lowed the procession as far as the Japanese Palace, where
T heard festival songs, festival speeches, and afterwards
the anything but festival hodge-podge made by bands of
music as they marched away and interlaced each other's



FETL AT LEIPZIG,



413



tune in the following edifying fashion, waves of sound cross-
ing one another thus —



^^



^



#^-



rf



M



mw^



:#=^



ff



^ ~^f f *



m



i




p^



^



!^



fe



^^



S==i



^/:



1^



I was utterly distracted, and pushed ray way through dust
and throngs of people back to the Altstadt" . . .

Moscheles alludes to the celebration at Leipzig of the
fiftieth anniversary of the great battle : " Fortunately we
had the best of weather for our fete ; all our veterans who
had served in the battle were handsomely entertained in
private houses ; two old Gratz artillery-men were quartered
on us, and uncommonly jov^ial they were. The procession
was really a very pretty and touching sight, for each old
soldier was attended in his march through the streets by a
young girl dressed in white, who walked by his side : spring



414 RE CENT M USIC AND M U SI CI A NS.

and winter contrasted beautifully. As the procession came
under our windows, the Pauliner and other musical societies
did me the honor of waving their flags and calling me out to
receive their greetings. Everything was admirably man-
aged, the music in the market-place^ the torch-procession,

illuminations, etc Talking of * veterans,' I suppose I

may speak of my fingers; I do nat allow them to take it
easy, but set them their daily task of difficult passages and
scale-gymnastics. I thoroughly believe in Riehl's words :
' A man of fifty years of age, who allows his physical and
mental energies to slacken, is sixty within a couple of years ;
a man of seventy, who by dint of healthy energetic work has
aspired to retain all his youthful vigor, is a man in his best
years.' And yet, continues Moscheles, ' 1 am at issue with
him in that part of his excellent letter where he deals v;ith
the subject of the Musical Education of the people, since
he would have the violin taught before the piano. Organ
and piano offer the best opportunity for an understanding
of the relations of tones and connection of harmonies ; and
therefore I think they should be studied first of all."

Moscheles, on the happy occasion af the marriage of his
third daughter, Clara, to the advocate, Dr. Adolar Gerhard,
was the very embodiment of Riehl's "ideal man of seventy,"
for he was radiant with happiness, and took an active part
in the festive proceedings. Dr. Gerhard had inherited his
father's gift for poetry, and some of his verses suggested to
Moscheles the melodies of two charming Lieder.

In the summer of 1866 Moscheles was in London.
Two years previously he had been painfully interested by
the Schleswig-Holstem question ; now the absorbing topic
of the day was the war between Austria and Prussia. " I
will not, [ cannot believe, in Germans wishing to take up
arms against Germans/' The occupation of Leipzig by the
Prussians soon undeceived him, and the dreadful miseries
that followed prompted him to join with Madame Jenny
Lind-Goldschmidt in giving a concert for the wounded
soldiers. *' For such a purpose I am glad once more to play
in public, and will cheerfully put up with hearing myself
called old-fashioned, if I, a venerable curiosity, can earn a
good harvest of guineas for others. What I could afford
out of my own purse is too little for these thousands of



THE '* FAMILIENLEBENr 415

unfortunate beings. Therefore — Art versus War — and let
us see if she, the peaceful one, cannot make head against
the destroyer. Let us have harmonies, not the din of bat-
tle." Moscheles handed over his half of the proceeds, 1400
thalers, to the Fund for the sufferers by the war.

" We were present at Mrs. Schwabe's, who gave a
farewell dinner to the poet Freiligrath. Our great musical
episode was the Handel Festival in the Crystal Palace ;
Costa steered his ship very cleverly through the giant rocks
of this locality, and Titiens, with her colossal voice, sang
splendidly ; the effect at times of the double choruses was
so thrilling that I thought to myself, 'Fancy old Handel
standing and conducting his gigantic works in this gigantic
place !"

After all the excitement of a London season, Moscheles
rejoiced to find himself at the sea side, where, surrounded by
his grandchildren, and under the influence of that bright
and sunny picture of happy childhood, he composes the
"Familienleben !" "These small pieces for four hands are
intended as a bequest to the grandchildren ; to my own, first
of all — after them, to all my grandchildren in art, who, I hope
will find amusement in them. Each piece depicts some inci-
dent gathered from the little world of children, some story they
may listen to with pleasure ; and if, while learning to play
these pieces, their little minds are active, or their miniature
feelings awakened, they will be learning to play well." At
a later period he added to the twelve numbers of the Famil-
ienleben" three others: "The Little Prattlers," "Grand-
mamma's Night Thoughts at the Spinning-Wheel," and
"The Boy on his Rocking-Horse." Moscheles' playing
would often attract a grateful crowd of rustics, who stood
outside and listened by the window, and one evening the
grandchildren were greatly impressed by the spectacle of a
working-man, who, after mounting the shoulders of his com-
panion and peering in at the window, called out in a sten-
torian voice : " God grant that gentleman for a long time
the use of his hands."

At this time Felix painted his father's portrait, which
preserves for us the large comely features and keen though
benign expression. Certainly no more favorable moment
could have been chosen to do justice to the original. Mos-



4i6 RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

cheles both mentally and physically was at his best, and en-
livened the hours of sitting by conversation on the points of
comparison between the sister arts ; this was always a favor-
ite topic with him.

Moscheles spent his seventy-third birthday at Leipzig,
and records that anniversary in language of simple truth
and gratitude : " How can I reckon up this great number
of years without thanking the Almighty for His having
guided me so far under His protection, and that too by the
side of my loving and beloved wife ! Old age is something
of everyday occurrence, but to be old and to feel at the same
time young and susceptible of all the enjoyments of life, is a
consciousness rarely bestowed." ....

The letters as well as the diary of this year testify to
Moscheles' full capacity of musical enjoyment. On two oc-
casions he goes to Dresden ; on the first he hears a per-
formance of Franz von Holstein's opera, " Der Haides-
chact ; " on the second, Wagner's " Meistersiinger" is the
attraction. Of the former he says : " I was very much
pleased with this music, after playing it on the piano from
a copy of the score ; the orchestral performance has com-
pletely justified all the hopes raised in my mind by that first
examination. The music is flowing and melodious, the in-
strumentation effective, and there is abundance of dramatic
force ; the artists, one and all, sang ' con amore' — nayj with
positive enthusiasm. I think this composer has a great fu-
ture before him." With regard to Wagner's " Meistersiing-
er," he writes : " I find more unity in this opera than in
Wagner's earlier works for the stage, although the compos-
er's views of the relation between orchestra and singers are
here, as everywhere in his music, peculiar — the singers with
long declamatory recitatives, and often ' parlando,' have to
struggle, as best they can, with overwrought orchestral mod-
ulations and effects. I thought 1 caught some echoes of
' Don Juan,' in that scene where Lerporello in a minuet
rhythm invites the 'maschere' to the ball. Next day
Kietz and I had a long conversation on the subject of the
eccentricities, as well as the undeniably great qualities, of
the ' Meistersanger ; ' we examined the printed score too,
and admired the well-calculated instrumental effects. The
old-fashioned lute, used by Beckmesser in the Serenade,



VISIT TO BELGRADE,



417



was effectively represented by a small harp with metal
instead of the ordinary strings ; the effect certainly was very
good."

So little had old age begun to tell on Moscheles, that he
fearlessly set out on so distant a journey as to Hungary and
Servia, on a visit to his daughter Serena, whose husband
(Dr. Rosen) had been appointed by the Prussian Govern-
ment Consul General at Belgrade. From the latter place
Moscheles writes : " We certainly move here in European
society, and indulge in European music ; on the other hand,
our surroundings are rather strange and primitive. We
have seen the park of Topschidere, where the Prince Michael
was insidiously murdered ; the market place with people in
their national costumes, the Turkish quarter, with Prince
Eugene's half-ruined palace, and the gipsies' street, with its
squalid, half-naked denizens. Servian tailors, weavers, and
shoemakers pursue their trade in open stalls ; there is a
brisk demand for frippery and second-hand goods of all
kinds. Behind a clump of faded oleander trees, you can see
people munching fruits, vegetables, and meat, and washing
it all down with ' Slibowitz,' their favorite beverage

'* The other day we saw a Servian wedding procession.
I counted twenty open caleches, all the occupants were
dressed in different colored costumes, even the horses were
decorated with ornamental cloths, part of the wedding pres-
ents made to the newly-married couple."

Moscheles, on his return from Belgrade, visits some old
friends at Pesth, where a complimentary banquet is given
in his honor. At the theatre he was received with an or-
chestral flourish, by way of prelude to the overture of the
national opera *' Hunyady," and a performance of that
most graceful and charming of all national dances, the
" Csardas."

On his return to Leipzig, Moscheles writes : " I have
indeed, cause to be thankful, as I look back upon the inci-
dents of my journey. I have travelled many a mile to meet
with those dear to me. I have enjoyed art and nature with
them, seen a country new and interesting to me, have met
with the kindest reception by art brothers and friends, and
now I return home hale and hearty."

This he wrote at the beginning of August ; yet when, in
18*



•41 8



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



the following October, his four children were once more
assembled in Leipzig on a visit to their parents, they ob-
served with apprehension symptoms of debility, which, as
being so unusual with their father, gave rise in their minds
to anxious forebodings. In November he suffered much
from want of sleep, and it was not until the following month
that the skill of his friends. Professors Reclam and Wagner,
gave him any relief What his friends were to him and his
wife, during that sad time, cannot be told in words. May
they all, on reading these pages, feel that the poor but im-
perfect tribute to their sympathy comes from the heart of
her who writes them ! Under the date of the 6th of Decem-
ber we find these few bars of music with a motto over them,
both in his handwriting :



Auflosung ist das Ziel unseres irdischen Lebens."
(" Dissolution is the goal of our earthly life.")



Tempo ad libitum.

r^ r" ^


I^v ! ^ -


''w:^ — ^"^~"


-^*- -'^—^ — y*--








-w-\ \ — ^-


•^ i ^ '

1 Q t %-Y^ -


-^— r^szz-


■ G^ 1


\ I 1 r

FJ n


^ ■ dim. '

|9^=f =tr=


^ -1 ^ —




=S=f|



On the Sth December, 1869 : For my diary :
" In my feverish restlessness and wretchedness last
night, I could not get out of my head Mendelssohn's Ca-
priccio (in A minor, op. -t^t^., No. i) ; from the first to the
last bar it exactly expresses my condition. That faultless
piece has, however, one awkward passage which did not



DREAM ABOUT BEE TIIO VEN.



419



escape me, awkward when judged by the strictly orthodox
hiws of harmony \ it is the sequence of the 263d bar to the



next.



•Ip


:H ^- ^


1 *-i •


9i=




^ ^-*

etc.


. .


-^ ' \JJ- ' — 1


--LJ,-^ '-



On Tuesday, the 20th of December, 1869, he writes in
the diary: "Towards morning, after a restless, almost
sleepless night, I had the following highly exciting dream,
I chanced to hear (I wonder where?) that, since the day of
Beethoven's death in Vienna, a couple of old servants were
in charge of the room in which he died, and declared that,
on each anniversary of Beethoven's birthday, he could be
conjured up to appear in bodily form, but only to those
with whom he had been personally acquainted in his life-
time. The watchers had had printed a description of his
last moments, and sold it to any one for a few kreutzers.
I must go there (1 said to myself,) and told Charlotte what
I proposed doing. She eagerly caught at the idea, and
begged and prayed I would take her with me. I was much
embarrassed, and explained to her that such a thing was
impossible, as she had not known Beetho\ en personally.
She would not be put off, and begged hard I would allow
her at least to see the manes of the great departed ; surely
I could make him understand that viy wife ought to be
pardoned this act of indiscretion. After much hesitation
I consented ! On the appointed day we came to Vienna,
and demanded admission to the room. We sat upon the
bed in which Beethoven had pronounced his last words,
' Plaudite, amici, comoedia finita est.' The servants made
some mysterious movements with their hands, and soon
afterwards Beethoven, in bodily form, arose .slowly like a
statue of white marble, the body draped in classical Gre-
cian folds. The apparition came near, and stretched out



420



RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



its cold hands towards me ; I clasped them immediately
and kissed them. Beethoven turned his head towards me
in a kindly way, as if he wanted to ask me questions j I
intimated to him by signs that he could not hear my
answers. He shook his head sorrowfully, withdrew his
hands from mine, and vanished into the upper air — then I
awoke."

"December 31st, 1869. — My thoughts were turned to-
wards the Creator, who, after my long and laborious career,
has brought me to the winter of my existence, and tended
by my faithful Charlotte, linked by the chain of love to all
my family, I find, although an invalid, quiet and comfort.
With these words I take leave of the year 1869 — Finis."

In January and February he rallies sufficiently to be
able to enjoy music. " It was a great undertaking," he
says, " but I have at last realized my desire to hear Cheru-
bini's * Medea,' with Franz Lachner's Recitatives, but the
intense interest with which I followed every note was too
much for me." A few days later he gives words of counsel
and encouragement to the youthful Emma Brandes, whose
musical endowments had a special charm for him, as being
in harmony with his own art-creed. When she had played
to him, he sat down to the piano to show her his rendering
of the " Concert Fantastique," but as he wrote afterwards,
" I could only play it "Mezza voce.' "

The ist of March, 1870, was the forty-fifth anniversary
of his wedding-day, and Moscheles, making every effort to
take part in the home fete, played, with his daughter and
two friends, an overture to " Der Freyschutz," for four per-
formers. The day afterwards, although he was palpably
unfit for any physical exertion, he insisted on going to the
Gewandhaus Rehearsal. This was to be his last effort.

In his last illness, Moscheles, the best of fathers, hus-
bands, sons, and friends, faced death with calm confidence,
and retained his cheerfulness unto the last moment of his
life. On the loth of March, 1870, when the angel of death
hovered over the sick man's chamber, Moscheles still had
an affectionate smile of recognition for the dear ones around
him. His faith failed not when the hour of departure was
at hand, and he died, as he had lived, in peace, and in the
fear and love of God.



A COMPLETE CATALOGUE

OF COMPOSITIONS

BY I. MOSCHELES.



A. — Compositions marked with the Nu7nber of the Work.

Op. I. Variations on a Theme from Mehul's Opera, " Une Folie."

For Piano. Leipzig : Kistner.
Op. 2. Ten Variations on a Favorite Air from the Opera, " Det

Dorf Barbier." For the Piano. Vienna: Haslinger.
Op. 3. Polonaise for the Piano. Leipzig : Hofmeister.
Op. 4. New Sonatine, easy and popular. For the Piano. Vienna :

Artaria & Co.
Op. 5. Favorite Air, by Weigl, " Wer horte wohl," with Variations.

For the Piano. Vienna r Spina.
Op. 6. Variations for the Piano, on an Austrian National Air.

Vienna : Artaria & Co.
C>p. 7. Variations on a Cavatina from the Opera, " Trajano in

Dacia." Vienna : Artaria & Co.
Op. 8. Ten Waltzes for the Pianoforte. Vienna : Artaria & Co.
Op. 9. Five German Dances for the Pianoforte. Vienna : Spina.
Op. 10. Triumphal March, with two Trios, for four hands on the

Pianoforte. Vienna : Spina.
Op. II. Two Rondos for the Piano, on Themes introduced in the

Ballet, " Les Portraits." Leipzig : Kistner.
Op. 12. Introduction and Rondo, for the Piano, on a Venetian

Barcarolle. Vienna : Haslinger.
Op. 13. Fantasie Heroique. For the Piano. Vienna : Spina. — New

Edition. Leipzig : Hofmeister.
Op. 14. Rondo Brilliante. For the Piano. Vienna : Artaria & Co.
Op. 15. Variations, for the Piano, on a Theme from the Opera, " The

Oculist." Vienna : Spina.
Op. 16. Three Love Songs, by E. Ludwig, with Pianoforte Accora

paniment (Dream and Reality, The Kiss, The Eternal).

Leipzig : Hofmeister.
Op. 17. Introduction et Variation Concertantes. For Pian(> Violin,

and Violoncello. Vienna : Haslinger.
Oj>; 18. Three Rondos for the Pianoforte. Vienna : Spina.



Op.


19.


Op.


20.


Op.


21.


Op.
Op.


22.
23-


Op.
Op.
Op.


24.

25.
26.


Op.
Op.
Op.


27.
28.
29.


Op.
Op.


30.
31.



422 CATALOGUE OF

Polonaise, preceded by an Introduction. For the Piano*

forte. Vienna : Spina.
Grand Duo Concertant. For Piano and Guitar. Vienna :

Artaria & Co.
Six Variations for Piano and Flute, or Violin. Vienna:

Haslinger.
Sonata for the Pianoforte. Vienna : Spina.
Variations for the Pianoforte, on a Russian Theme. Vienna :

Artaria & Co.
Hondo Espagnol. For the Piano. Vienna: Spina.
Caprice. For the Piano. Vienna : Spina.
Triumphal Entry of the Allies into Paris — a descriptive

piece. For the Piano. Vienna : Artaria & Co.
Sonata (characteristic). For the Piano. Vienna : Artaria & Co.
Six Divertissements, for the Piano. Vienna : Spina.
Variations for the Piano on a Theme of Handel. Vienna :

Spina,
Rondo Brilliant, for Four Hands. Vienna : Spina.
Trois Marches Heroiques, for Four Hands. Vienna:
Spina.

Op. 32. " La Marche d'Alexandre," with Variations. For the

Piano and Orchestral Accompaniment. Vienna : Artaria

& Co. Arranged with Quartet ; Piano Solo ; Pianoforte

Duet, Leipzig : Breitkopf and Hartel.

Op. 33. Six Waltzes, with Trios for Pianoforte Duet. Vienna :

Artaria & Co.
Op. 34. Grand Duo Concertant. For Piano and Violoncello, or

Bassoon. Vienna : Artaria & Co.
Op. 35. Grand Sextuor. For Piano, Violin, Flute, Two Horns, and
Violoncello. Leipzig : Hofmeister, Arranged as a Sonata
for Piano, for two Pianos ; for Pianoforte Duet.
Op, 36. Variations on an Austrian National Melody. For Piano

and Violin. Vienna : Haslinger.
Op. 37. Grand Caprice, followed by a Potpourri. For Piano and

Violoncello, or Violin Concertants. Vienna: Spina.
Op. 3S. Fantasia (in the Italian style), followed by a Grand Rondo.

For Piano. Vienna : Haslinger.
Op, 39. Introduction and Variations, for the Piano, on an Austrian

National Air. Vienna : Haslinger.
Op. 40. " Les Portraits" — Ballet Champetre et Comique. Arranged
for Pianoforte. Vienna : Artaria & Co, Overture for Piano-
forte Solo and Duet. Three Divertissements for Piano, on
Subjects taken from the Ballet " Les Portraits." Leipzig :
Hofmeister.
Op. 41. Grand Sonata. For Piano. (Dedicated to Beethoven.)

Vienna : Haslinger.
Op. 42. Grand Variations on an Austrian National Melody. For
Piano, Two Violins, Viola, Violoncello, and Double Bass,
or without Accompaniment. Vienna : Artaria & Co.
Op. 43. Grand Rondeau Brilliant. For Piano, accompanied by Two



COMPOSITIONS BY I. MOSCHELES.



423



Violins, Viola, Violoncello, and Double Bass {ad lib.).

Vienna : Artaria & Co. For Pianoforte Solo or Duet.

Leipzig : Hofmeister,
Grand Senate Concertante. For Piano and Flute, Vienna:

Artaria & Co.
Concert de Societe. For Piano, with Accompaniment for

small Orchestra. Vienna : Spina.
Fantasia, Variations, and Finale, on the Bohemian National

Song, " To Gsau Kone." For Piano, Violin, Clarinet, and

Violoncello. Vienna : Haslinger.
Grand Sonate. Piano, for Four Hands (E major sonata).

Vienna: Artaria & Co. New Edition, Hamburg: Cranz.
French Rondo. Arranged for Piano and Violin, with a

small Orchestra, or without. Vienna : Haslinger.
Sonate melancholique. For the Piano. Vienna : Artaria

& Co. Berlin : Schlesinger.
Fantasia and Variations, on the favorite air, " Au clair de

la Lune." For the Piano, with accompaniment for the

Orchestra, Berlin: Schlesinger. With Quartet, for Piano-
forte Solo.
AUegri di Bravura (La Forza, La Legerezza, II Capriccio).

Leipzig : Peters.
La Tenerezza. Rondoletto for the Pianoforte. Vienna :

Spina. New Edition, Hamburg : Cranz.
Colonaise Brillante. For the Piano. Leipzig : Hofmeister.
Les Charmes de Paris. Rondo Brillante. For the Piano,

Berlin : Schlesinger.
Bonbonniere Musicale ; Suite de Morceaux Faciles for Piano.

Paris : Schlesinger.
Grand Concerto in E major. For the Piano, with Orchestral

Accompaniment. Leipzig : Klemm. With Quartet, as

Pianoforte Solo, Rondo Brillalla Polacca for Pianoforte

Duet. Leipzig : Hofmeister.
Fantasia for the Piano, on Three Favorite Scotch Airs.

Leipzig : Breitkopf & Hartel.
" Jadis et Aujourdhui," a Gigue and Quadrille Rondeau. For

the Piano. Hamburg : Cranz.
Grand Potpourri Concertant, For Piano and Violin, or

Flute (By Moscheles and Lafont). Berlin : Schlesinger.
Third Concerto (G minor). For Piano, with Orchestra.

Leipzig: Klemm. With Quartet. For Pianoforte Solo.
Rondoletto, on a Favorite Nocturne by Paer. For the

Piano. Vienna : Artaria & Co.
Impromptu. For the Piano. Leipzig : Kistner.
Introduction, and Scotch Rondo. Concertante, for Piano

and Horn, or Violin and Viola, Leipzig : Kistner. Ar-
ranged as Pianoforte Duet.
Op. 64. Fourth Concerto. For the Piano, with Orchestral Accontt"

paniment. Vienna : Steiner & Co.



Op.


44.


Op.


45.


Op.


46.


Op.


47.


Op.


48.


Op.


49-


Op.


50.


Op.


51.


Op.


52.


Op.
Op.


53-
54.


Op.


55-


Op.


56.


Op.


57.


Op.


58.


Op.


59-


Op.


60.


Op.


61.


Op.
Op.


62.

63.



424 CATALOGUE OF

Op. 65. Impromptu Martial, on the English Air, " Revenge, hfl
cried." For the Piano. Leipzig : Kistner.

Op. 66. La Petite Babillarde. Rondo lor the Piano. Leipzig
Kistner.

Op. 67. Three Brilliant Rondos for the Piano, on Favorite Motives
from the Vaudeville, " The Viennese at Berlin." Berlin :
Schlesinger.

Op. 68. Fantasia and Rondo, on an Austrian March. For the Piano.
Leipzig : Kistner.

Op. 69. Souvenirs d'lrlande. Grand Fantasia. For the Piano, with
Accompaniment for Orchestra or Quartet. Leipzig :
Hofmeister. Arranged as Pianoforte Solo and Duet.

Op. 70. Twenty-four Studies for Advanced Players. Leipzig :
Kistner.

Op. 71. Rondeau Expressif, on a favorite Theme of Gallenberg. For
Piano. Leipzig : Kistner.

Op. 72. No. I. Fantaisie Dramatique, in the Italian Style, on a Favor-
ite Air sung by Madame Pasta. For the Piano. Leipzig :
Kistner.

Op. 72. No. 2. Bijoux a la Sontag. Fantaisie Dramatique. For the
Piano. Kistner.

Op. 72. No. 3. Bijoux a la Malibran. Fantastique Dramatique (two
books). Kistner.

Op. 73. Fifty Preludes in the different Major and Minor Keys. For
Piano. Kistner.

Op. 74. Les Charmes de Londres. Brilliant Rondo for Piano. Kistner.

Op. 75. Echoes from Scotland. Fantasia on Scotch National Airs.
For the Pianoforte, with Orchestra or Quartet. Leipzig :
Hofmeister. — Arranged for Piano Solo.

Op. 76. " La Belle Union." Brilliant Rondo, preceded by an Intro-
duction for the Piano. For Four Hands. Leipzig : Kist-
ner.

Op. 77. Allegro di Bravura. For the Piano ( Dedicated to Mendels-
sohn). Berlin : Schlesinger.

Op. 78. Divertissements a la Savoyarde. For Piano and Flute or
Violin. Liepzig : Hofmeister.

Op. 79. Sonata Concertante. For Piano and Flute, or Violin. Leip-
zig : Kistner.

Op. 80. Fantasia on Airs of the Scotch Bards. For Piano with Or-
chestra {ad lib). Leipzig : Kistner. Arranged for Piano-
forte alone.

Op. 81. First Symphony in C. For Grand Orchestra. Leipzig : Kist-
ner.

Op. 82 a. Rondeau Sentimental. For Piano. Kistner.

Op. 82 b. Quatre Divertissements. For Piano and Flute. Kistner.

Op. 83. Recollections of Denmark. Fantasia on Danish National
Airs. For Piano, with Orchestra. Kistner. Arranged for
Pianoforte Solo.

Op. 84. Grand Trio. For Piano, Violin, and Violoncello (Dedicated to
Cherubini). Kistner.



COMPOSITIONS BY I. MO SCHEIE S.



425



Op. 85. La Gaiete. Brilliant Rondo for the Piano. Kistner.

Op. 86 a. Easy March, with Trio. For Pianoforte Duet. Kistner.

Op. 86 b. Souvenir de Rubini. Dramatic Fantasia for the Piano, on a
Cavaiina from the Opera "Anna Bolena." Kistner.

Op. 87. Fifth Concerto (C Major). For the Piano and Orchestral
Accompaniment. Vienna : Haslinger. With Quartet for
Pianoforte Solo.

Op. 87 a. Souvenir de I'Opera. "^Dramatic Fantasia for the Piano, on
Favorite Airs sung in London by Madame Pasta. Leipzig :
Kistner.

Op. 87 b. Duo Concertant. For two Pianos, with Orchestral Ac-
companiment in the form of Brilliant Variations on the
Bohemian March, from the Melodrama " Preciosa." Com-
posed by F. Mendelssohn and I. Moscheles. Kistner. For
two Pianos without Accompaniment. For Pianoforte Duet.

Op. 88. Grand Septet. For Piano, Violin, Viola, Clarinet, Horn,
Violoncello, and Double Bass. Kistner. For Pianoforte
Solo or Duet.

Op. 89. Impromptu. For the Piano. Kistner.

Op. 90. Concerto Fantastiqe ( No. 6). For Piano, with Orchestra.
Vienna.: Haslinger. With Quartet. For Pianoforte
alone.

Op. 9 1. Overture, for Full Orchestra, to Schiller's Tragedy, "Joan of
Arc." Leipzig : Kistner. Arranged for Pianoforte Duet.

Op. 92. Hommage a Handel. Grand Duet for Two Pianofortes.
Kistner. Arranged as a Pianforte Duet.

Op. 93. Concerto Pathetique. For Piano with Orchestra (No 7). Vi-
enna : Haslinger.

Op. 94 a. Rondeau Brilliant on Dessauer's Favorite Romance, " Le
Retour des Promis." Leipzig : Kistner.

Op. 94 b. Hommage Caracteristique to the Memory of Madame Mali-
bran de Beriot, in the form of a Fantasia, for the Piano.
Kistner.

Op. 95. Characteristic Studies for the Piano, for the Higher Develop-
ment of Execution and Bravura. Kistner.

[Passion — Reconciliation — Contradiction — Juno — Nurse-
ry Tales — Bacchanal — Tenderness — National Holiday
Scenes — Moonlight by the Sea-shore — Terpsichore — The
Dream — Anxiety.]

Op. 96. Pastoral Concerto (No 8). For Piano with Orchestral Accom-
paniment. Vienna : Haslinger.

Op. 97. Six Songs, with Accompaniment for the Piano. Leipzig :
Kistner. Stamme Liebe der Schmied. Zuversicht — Das
Reh im Herbste — Sakontala.

Op. 98. Two Studies — " Ambition — Enjoyment ; " taken from *' La
Methode des Methodes." Berlin : Schlesinger

Op. 99. Tutti Frutti. Six new Melodies, For the Piano. Paris :
Pacini.

Op. 100. Ballad. For the Piano. Brunswick : Spohr. — Arranged for
Piano Duet.



426



CATALOGUE OF



Op. loi. Romance and Brilliant Tarantella. For the Piano. Leipzig:
Hofmeister.

Op. I02. Hommage a Weber. Grand Duet for the Piano, on subjects
from Euryanthe and Oberon. Leipzig : Kistner.

Op. 103, Serenade. For the Piano. Kistner.

Op. 104. Romanesca. For the Piano. Kistner.

Op. 105. Two Studies for the Piano (written for the Beethoven Al-
bum). Vienna : Spina.

Op. 106. Brilliant Fantasia, for the Piano, on a Cavatina from Ros-
sini's Opera, " Zelmira," and a Ballad from Mozart's " Ser-
aglio." Leipzig : Kistner.

Op. 107. Daily Studies in the Harmonic Scale, for Practice in differ-
ent Rhythms. A Series of Fifty-five Pieces, for Four
Hands (Two Books). Kistner.

Op. 108. Two Brilliant Fantasias for the Piano on Favorite Airs from
Balfe's " Bohemian Girl " (Two Books). Kistner.

Op. 109. Melange for the Piano on the " Serenade" and other favor-
ite airs from '" Don Pasquale." Leipzig : Hofmeister.

Op. 109 a. Brilliant Fantasia, on Favorite Themes from the Opera,
" Don Pasquale." For the Piano. Leipzig : Hofmeister.

Op. no. Gondolier's Song. For the Piano. Rotterdam.

Op. III. Four Great Concert Studies. For the Piano. Leipzig;
Kistner. [Reverie et Allegresse — Le Carillon — Tendresse
et Exultation — La Fougue.]

op. 112. Grand Sonate Symphonique, (No 2) for Four Hands. Ber-
lin : Friedlander.

Op. 113. Album of the Favorite Songs of Pischek. Transcribed for
the Piano, in the form of a Brilliant Fantasia. Leipzig •
Kistner.

Op. 114. Souvenirs de Jenny Lind. Brilliant Fantasia for the Piano,
on Swedish Airs. Kistner.

Op. 115. Les Contrastes. Grand Duo for Two Pianos. Arranged for
Four or Eight Hands. Kistner.

Op. 116. Freie Kunst. A Poem, by Uhland. For a Bass or Alto
Voice with Pianoforte Accompaniment. Kistner.

Op. 117. Six Lieder, with Pianoforte Accompaniment. [Liebeslaun
schen — dem Liebesiinger. Warum so stumm — Botschaft
— Schafers Sonntagslied. Friihlingslieder.] Kistner.

Op. 118. Grand Waltz. P'or the Piano. Kistner.

Op. 119. Six Songs, with Pianoforte Accompaniment. [Abends — Die
Zigeunerin — Strenge — ^Jemand — Der Liebenswtindigen —
Der dreifache Schnee.] Kistner.

Op. 120. Mazurka Appassionata. For Piano. Kistner.

Op. 121. Sonata. For Piano and Violoncello ; for Piano and Violin ;
for Pianoforte Duet. Kistner.

Op. 122. "Expectation" (after Schiller). Fantasia for the Piano.
Hamburg: Cranz.

Op. 123. Magyaren Klange. Original Fantasia for the Pianoforte.
Brunswick : Litolff.

Op. 124. " Longing" (Schiller's Poem). Fantasia for the Pianoforte
Leipzig : Siegel.



COMPOSITIONS BY I, MOSCHELES. 42^

Op. 125. Spring Song. For a Soprano or Tenor Voice, with Piano-
forte Accompaniment. Cologne : Schloss.

Op. 126. Grand Concert Study. For Piano. Leipzig: Kistner.

Op. 127. Scherzo. For the Piano. Leipzig : Payne.

Op. 128. Humoristic Variations, Scherzo and Variations for thft
Piano. Leipzig : Kistner.

Op. 129. The Dance. Characteristic Piece (after Schiller). For the
Piano. Leipzig : Breitkopf & Hartel.

Op. 130. Symphonesque-Heroic March on German National Songs.
For Piano (Four Hands). Arranged for Two Pianos.
Leipzig : Kistner.

Op. 131. Six Songs, with Pianoforte Accompaniment. Kistner.

Op. 132. Four Duets, for Soprano and Alto, with Pianoforte Accom-
paniment. [Gieb uns teglich Brod — Frlihlingsliebe,
Schmetrering und Liebchen — Am Meere, Inniges Ver-
stendniss, Tauz Reigen der Donischen Kosaken.j Kist-
ner.

Op. 133. Reverie Melodique. For the Piano. Stuttgart : E. Hall-
be rger.

Op. 134. Toccata. For the Piano. (In the Mozart Album).

Op. 135. Pastoral in the Organ Style. Erfiirt : Bartholomaiis.

Op. 136. To G. Rossini. " To the Rivulet." Song, with Horn (or
Viola) Obligato, and Piano, Leipzig : Kistner.

Op. 137. Studies in Melodious Counterpoint. A Selection of Ten
Preludes from J. S. Bach's " Well Tempered Clavier,"
with an obligato Violoncello part added by Moscheles.
Also Arranged for a Second Piano instead of Violoncello.
Leipzig : Kistner.

Op. 138. Feuillet d' Album de Rossini. An Original Theme for
Piano and Horn ; for Piano and Viola ; for Two Pianos.
Kistner.

Op. 139. " Lied im Volkston," with Variations, on an Original Theme.
Leipzig : Klemm.

Op, 140. Domestic Life. Twelve Progressive Piano Pieces for Four
Hands, Two Books. Leipzig : Kistner.

Op. 141. March and Scherzo as Rhythmical Exercises. Hamburg:
Cranz.

Op. 142. Three Character Pieces for Pianoforte Duet. Leipzig;
Kistner.



B. — Various Compositions.

1. Souvenir de Belisaire. Two Fantasias for the Piano. Leipzig:

Kistner.

2. Fantasia for the Piano, on Motives from Balfe's " FalstafF." May-

ence : Schotts fils.

3. Fantasia on Favorite Themes from the Opera " Oberon." For the

Piano. Berlin : Schlesinger,

4. Fantasie a la Paganini. For Pianoforte Solo. Leipzig : Kistner.



428 COMPOSITIONS BY I. MOSCHELES.

5. Fantasia on Motives from Balfe's Opera, " The Siege of Rochelle."

For the Piano. Vienna : Spina.

6. Bouquet des Melodies. Fantasia on Favorite Airs. Hamburg :

Cranz.

7. The Popular Barcarolle, " Or che in Cielo." Sung by Signor

Ivanhafif in Donizetti's Opera " Marino Faliero." Arrang-
ed as a Fantasia with Variations for the Pianoforte. Lon-
don : Addison and Hodson.

8. Pensees Fugitives for the Piano. Vienna : Spina. (Romance —

Impromptu — Nocturne — Rhapsodic.)

9. Andante and Rondeau on a German Theme. For the Piano.

Leipzig : Kistner.

10. Echo des Alpes. Divertissment for the Piano on three Swiss Pas-

toral Airs. Kistner.

11. The Tyrolese Family, 3d " Divertissement." For the Piano.

Leipzig : Hofmeister.

12. Divertissement on Tyrolese Airs, Sung by the Rainer Family.

For the Piano. Leipzig : Peiers.

13. Divertissements on Swiss National Airs. For the Piano. Leip-

zig : Kistner.

14. Rondeau on a Favorite Scotch Melody. For the Piano. Vienna:

Haslinger.

15. Rondeau Militaire, for the Piano, on the fa\«orite Duett, " Enten-

dez-vous," from Auber's " Fiancee." Leipzig: Kistner.

16. Farewell March of The Emperor Alexander Regiment. Vienna :

Spina.

17. Two Grand Marches for the Imperial Alexander Regiment.

Spina.

18. March of the 2d Regiment of Viennese National Guard. For

the Piano. Spina.

19. Favorite March with Trio, of the Regiments Kutschera and Max

Joseph. For Pianoforte Duet. Spina.

20. Rhapsodic Champdtre. For the Piano. Berlin : Schlesinger.

21. The Departure of the Troubadours. Romance with German and

Italian words. Variations by Moscheles, Giuliani, and
Mayseder. Vienna: Spina. Czerny's Arrangement for
Two Pianofortes, for Pianoforte Duet.

22. Music Composed for the Sledging Party of the Allied Princes.

Vienna : Artaria & Co.

23. Three Fashionable Waltzes. For the Piano. Artaria & Co.

24. Twelve German Dances Complete. Vienna.

25. Six Waltzes, for the Piano. Vienna: Spina.

26. Six Ecossaises for the Piano. Vienna : Artaria & Co.

27. Six Waltzes for the Piano. Leipzig : Peters.

28. Concord (words by T. Probald). For Voice and Piano. Leipzig :

Payne.

29. Fantasia for the Piano on Airs of Neukomm. London: Cramer & Co

30. L'Elegante. Rondeau for the Piano. London : Chappell.

31. Variations on Handel's " Harmonious Blacksmith," for the Piano

For Four Hands. Leipzig: Kistner.



INDEX OF NAMES

MENTIONED THROUGHOUT THE WORK.



A BAMBERGER, Mile, 412.
Adams, 362.
Aime-Martin, 358.
Albert, 305.
Albrechtsberger, 6.
Almasy, Countess, 318.
Alsager, 186, 192, 296, 310,
Ambrogetti, 36.
Anderson, Mrs., 203, 346.
Andre, Hofrath, 184.
Arnold, 339.
Artaria, 5.
Asher, 304.
Auber, 359, 399.
Auerbach, Berthold, 303.
Austin, Mrs., 364.
Ayrton, 366.

BACH, Sebastian, 337.
Bacher, Dr., 315.
Bader, 65.
Baillot, 28.
Balfe, 224, 240, 398.
Barbaja, 57.
Barlow, 48.
Barnard, Sir A., 185.
Barnett, 248.
Bamroth, 158.
Bartholomew, 334.
Bassano, 324.
Batthyany, 15.
Baudisson, Count, 41a.
Bauer, F.,
Bauerle, 58, 65, 68.
Becker, C. F., 3S0.
Beer, Frau von, 305.
Beethoven, Karl, 7, i3i.
Beethoven, 7, 10, 59, 95, 351, 380, 317,

409.
Bellamy, 304.
Bendemann, E., 183.
Benedict, J., 58, 311, 336, 339, 363, 387,

399.
Benelli, 68.

Bennet, W. Stemdale, 308. 389, 310.
Beriot, De, 132, 223.
Berlioz, 257, 294.
Bemburg, Duchess of, 366.
besker, 347.



Bishop, Sir Henry, 31X.

Blagrove, 388.

Blum, C, 30.

Blume, 89.

Boai, M., 163.

Bochsa, 44, 153.

Bock, Frau von, see SchrSder-Devrieot

Bodenstedt, 387.

B5hm, 56.

Bohme, 327, 363.

Bohrer, Max, 136.

Bombelles, 23.

Bonnemaison, Madame, 37.

Bordogni, 29.

Bott, Kapellmeister, 347.

Bouffe, 391.

Bource, 393.

Braham, 37, 173, 334.

Brandes, Emma, 420.

Brassin, Brothers, 343.

Brassin, Louis, 370.

Braum, 247.

Breidenstein, Professor, 317, 381.

Brendel, F., 327, 363.

Broadwood, 231.

Brunow, 391.

Buck, Mile., 359.

Bull, Ole, 230, 270.

Billow, Hans von, 380.

Bunsen, 2S6, 288.

Burch, Max, 394.

Butler, Mrs., see Kemble, Fanny

Bury, Lady Charlotte, 179.

CAMBRIDGE, Duke of, 313.

\J Campani, 11.

Camporese, 37.

Caradori-AUan, 205, 307, 368, JOOb

Carpani, 88.

Castellan, 331, 364-

Castelli, 58, 113, 306.

Catalani, 36, 39, 43.

Cawse, Miss, 186.

Cello, 339.

Chelard, 179.

Cherubini, 27, 338.

Chopin, 210, 340, 330, 360, 366.

Chorley, 177, 267, 369, 373, 373.

Cibbini, Frau von, 305.



430



INDEX OF NAMES.



Cinti, 29, 44, 175, 234.

Clarus, Hofrath, 243.

Clauss, Szarvady Wilhelmine, 359.

Clementi, 2,34, 51, 72, i3o, 137, 144, 175.

Coleridge, 19.9.

CoUards, 73.

Cornwall, 176,

Costa, 73, 329.

Cramer, J. B., 34, 43, 46, 178, 195, 311,

393-
Cramer, F., 44, 174.
Cremieax, 358.
Crotch, 49, 393.
Curtis, Sir W., 53, 333.
Czerny, C, 339.

DANNREUTHER, 407.
David, F., 151, 353, 371, 375, 308, 330,
327. 330, 332, 335, 342, 344, 347, 348,
350, 353, 359, 362, 364, 367, 385, 387,
390, 391, 394, 407.

David, Louisa, see Dulcken.

David, Felicien, 313.

David, Paul, 360.

Davison, 300.

Dejazet, 359.

Devrient, Emile, 310.

Devrient, Edward, 353.

Dietrichstein, Prince 87.

Dilke, Wentworth, 318.

Dirichlet, 343, 360.

Distins, 347.

Dotzauer, 33.

Dizi, 35, 44.

Dohler, Th., 248, 364, 309.

Donizetti, 305.

Donzelli, 151.

Dorn, Kapellmeister, 89, 411.

Dorus-Gras, 282, 313.

Dragonetti, 36, 193.

Draxler, 306.

Dreyschock, A., 295.

Dugazon, 30, 31.

Dulcken, Madame, 151, 346.

Duponchel, 258.

Duprez, 258, 259.

T7ICHHORN, 183.
VJ Eicke, 370.
Ella, 336.
Elsler, Fanny, 349, 303.

EltZ, 118, 123.

Embden, Charlotte, 69.
Erard, 37, 70, 193.
Erdmann, Baroness, 305,
Ernst, 395, 300.
Eskeles, 5, io8.

FALKENSTEIN, von, 309.
Ferdinand I. Emperor of Austria,

^. . 306-

Fetis, 151.

Field, 167.

Fink, 317.

Fisohhof, Professor, 306, 313.

Flathe, 349.



Fleming, 53, 73.

FiKlor, 35.

Formes, Karl, 350.

Forti, 58.

Fortunati, Carlo, 378.

Franchomme, 339.

Frege, Livin, 30S, 347, 349, 351, 35a, 359

360.
Frege, Professor, 343.
Fuchs, Aloj's, 305.
Fumagalli, 379.
Furstenau, 80, 83.

GADE, Niels, 30S, 309, 333, 348, 374.
Galitzin, Prince, 16.
Gall, the Phrenologist, 38.
Ganz, 339, 317.

Garcia, Pauline, 359, 383, 313.
Geibels, 375.
Genast, 64.

Gerhard, Adolar, 331, 414.
Gerke, 339.
Gemsheim, 370.
Giuliani, 11, 14.
Gladstone, 354.
Goddard, Arabella, 38S.
Goethe, Frau von, 184.
Goldschmidt, Otto, 361, 369, 383, 410
Goldschmidt, Madame, see Lind.
Gounod, 408, 411.
Graf, 60.

Grahl, Professor, 173.
Griepenkerl, 347.
Grillparzer, F., 58, 108, 306.
Grimal, 186.
Grimm, J. O., 370.
Grisi, Giulina, 301, 305, 338, 241*
Griinbaum, 58.
Griitzmacher, 364.
Guillon, 155, 159.
Gusikow, 330.
Gutzkow, 310.
Gyrowetz, 58.

HABENECK, 27, 358.
Hahnel, 316, 317.
Haidl, 305.

Haizinger, 58, 173, 179, 180, sSa.
Haizinger, Madame, 400.
Halevy, 35S, 397
Halle, 394.
Hammer, Dr., 343.
Hardegg, Countess, 13, 17.
Hartel, Dr. 313, 311.
Haslinger, 307, 392.
Hasselt-Barth, 306.
Hauptmann, Moritz, 308.
Hauser, 175, iSi, 314.
Hausmann, 347, 351.
Haydn, 32, 176.
Heine, Heinrich, 139.
Heinemeyer, 247.
Heller, Stephen, 357.
Hemans, Felicia, 130.
Hensel, Fanny, 319, 333.
I Henselt, A., 350.



INDEX OF NAMES.



431



Henzler, 194.

Hermann, 363.

Herz, H., 195. 231, 348.

Heyermanns, 395.

Hiller, Ferdinand, 53, 117, l^o.

Hobbs, 205.

Holm, 172.

Holstein, Franz von, 375, 416-

Hope, Mr., 195.

Horschek, 308.

Horschelt, 56.

Horsley, 294-

Hotschebar, 134.

Horzelsky, 3.

Hubner, 345'

HuUah, 296.

Humboldt, Alexander Von, 386.

Hummel, 100, 1S4, 193, 353.



JACOB, 301.
Jacobs, Jacob, 395.
Jadassohn, S., 370.
Jaell, Alfred, 305.
Jager,3i6.
Jahn, Otto, 362, 375.
Jameson, Mrs., 264, 301.
Jam-hod-deen, Prince, 331.
Janin, Jules, 357- ,, ^ ,

Jeanrenaud, Cecile, see Mendelssohn.
Jeitteles, 58-
Joachim, Joseph, 299, 300. 308, 309* 329;

333. 333> 336, 347. 353, 359. 362.
JuUien, 391, 298.



KALKBRENNER, 34, 35. 39. 357-
Kaulbach, W. von, 303.
Kaulbach, Madame, 3S3.
Kean, Edmund, 167, 386.
Keeleys, 185.
Kemble, Charles, 283.
Kemble, Fanny (Mrs. Butler), 383.
Kemble, Adelaide, 383.
Keyser, De, 375-
Kiesewetter, 36, 44, 83.
Kmd, F.,63,80.
Kistner, 211, 217,377.
Klatke, 305.
Klems, 387.
Klengel, A., 33.
Klingemann, C, 133. i73. 178, 180, 194,

310, 226, 367,300.
Knaur, 347.
Knorr, Julius, 337.
Knyvett, 236.
KSnigswarter, 330.
Komer, 406.
Kramer, 46.
Kratky, Mile, 317.
Kraus-Wranitsky, Madame, 183.
Krebs, 56.

Kreutzer, Rudolf, 36.
Kufferath, 395.
Knhlau, 154. 159-
Kustner, Hofrath, 64, 358.



IABLACHE, 167, 178, 338, a68.
i Lachner, Franz, 303.
Lafont, 27, 39, 39.
Landseer, 294-
Laporte, 152.
Latour, 35, 36.
Laube, 349.
Lavenu, 281.
Lecerf, 42.
Lee, 180.

Lee, Mrs. Bov?ditch, 177.
Lefebre, 319.
Lehmann, Heinrich, 997.
Lehmann, Rudolf, 397.
Leitgeb, 57.
Leo, A., 41.
Leonard, 395.
Le Pere, 241.
Lerius, Van, 395.
Leschin, 59.
Levasseur, 28.
Leys, 395.
Lewinger, 95, 117.
Lewinger, Frau von, 263.
Lieben, Frau von, 304.
Liebig, 387.
Lienau, 407.
Lies, 395.

Lincoln, Miss, 309.
Lind, Jenny, 311, 333, 326, 333, 333, 336,

368, 370. 3S3. 410, 414-
Lindley, 174-
Lipinsky, 230, 310.
List, Mile., 374.
Liszt, Franz, 94, 364, 377, 381, 318, 319,

354. 365. 366, 373, 393. 396, 407-
Litolff, 165, 181,310,337,364.
Lockhart, 199, 330.
Logier, 36, 79.
Lortzing, 355.

Louis, King of Bavana, 304.
Louis Napoleon, 365, 354.
Louis Philippe, 361, 330.
Lowenstern, 255.
Lunin, Baroness, 16.
Luttichau, 62.
Lwoff, 264.

MACFARREN, 300.
Magnus, 301.
Malibran, Maria, 149, 193, 195, 224, 225.

226, 227.
Malzel, 41.
Mantius, 182.
Mara, 36.

Marchisio, Sisters, 404.
Mario, 259, 324.
Mars, Mile, 31, 145. 259«
Marschner, H., 310.
Marx, 89, 90.
Marxsen, Edward, 35J.
Mason, Monk, 176.
Masson, Miss, 173, 240,
Matthews, 146, 176.
Matthai, 20.
Mayer, J. A., 55.



432



INDEX OF NAMES.



Mayseder, 14, 60.

Mazzini, 409.

Meerti, 2S2.

Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Felix, 63, 65,
68, 89, 149, 177, 181, 1S3, 188, 193, 194,
197, 199, 211, 214, 215, 216, 21S, 220,
222, 223, 232, 233, 243, 254, 262, 265,
266, 267, 269, 271, 274, 277, 283, 290,
3CX), 301, 302, 320, 321, 322, 324, et seq.

Mendelssohn, Cecile, 233, 271, 275, 291,
333. 340, 341. 343. 346, 347. 350, 356,
360, 382.

Mendelssohn, Paul, 172, 343, 353, 360.

Mendelssohn, A., 220.

Mendelssohn, Fanny, 219, 223.

Mendelssohn, Mme., 275.

Merck, 11, 14.

Meric, Madame, 179.

Mertel, 370.

Mesny, 27.

Meyer, Leopold von, 271, 300.

Meyerbeer, 8, 12, 177, 258, 259, 297, 311,
315. 319. 355-

Milanollo, Teresa, 313.

Milder, 159.

Milder-Hauptmann, Madame. 65.

Mitterwurzer, 385.

Mock, Mile., see Pleyel.

Mocenigo, Contessa, 376.

Molique, 56.

Montez, Lola, 316.

Montgereau, 27.

Moore, Thomas, 199.

Moreau, 305.

Morgan, Lady, 78, 248.

Mori, 70, 74, 171, 195.

Morlacchi, 22, 62.

Moser, 89, 239.

Miihlenfeld, 239.

Miiller, Ivan, 27, 42, 347.

Murray, 265.

NAGELI, 79.
Nageli, Jun, 380.
Nesselrode, Count, 301.
Nestroy, 350.
Neukomm, 150, 165, 173, 183, 339, 243,

286, 287, 361.
Neumann, Louise, 327.
Nourrit, 42, 224.

Novello, Clara, 166, 186, 328, 263, 393.
Novello, Sabilla, 317.

OBERHOFER, 313.
Oehlenschlager, 154
Offenbach, 411.
Oom, Mrs., 52.
Orleans, Duchess of, 330.
Osborne, 354.
Oury, Mme., 247.

PACINI, 167.
Paer, 37.
Paganini, 168, 171, 181,
Palffy, 14.
Pankouke, 38.



Pape, 37, 43-

Paravicini, 202.

Parry, John, 192, 393.

Pasta, Madame, 167, 196, 379.

Paton, Miss, 80, 83.

Pauer, Ernst, 306, 393.

Persiani, Madame, 283.

Perthuis, Count, 259.

Phillips, 73, 173, 203, 363, 335.

Piatti, 310.

Pigott, 78.

Pisaroni, 149. +

Pistrucci, 53.

Pixis, P., 120, 143.

Plaidy, W., 327.

Plantade, 27, 38.

Pleyel, Madame, 43, 333.

Pocci, Count, 304.

Pogner, 359.

Poifere de Cere, Baron, 36.

PoUedro, 22.

Ponchard, 27, 401.

Potier, 31.

Preusser, 383.

Puzzi, 241.

RACHEL, 258, 2S3.
Radecke, Robert, 370.
Radezki, 14.
Radem, Count, 319.
Rahel, 67.
Rainers, 93, 129.
Ratzan, Count, 411.
Rathen, Baron, 2cx5.
Rau, loi, 106, 107, 118, 119, 133, ia4*
Ranch, 387.
Reclam, Dr., 381.
Reicha, 26.
Reichard, 214.

Reinecke, Carl, 347, 394, 406.
Reissiger, 310, 371.
Richard, 345.
Richter, 327.
Riehl, 414.

Ries, F., 34, 35. 183, 239, 246.
Rietz, Julius, 338, 339, 343.347. 350. 3S*

353. 359, 362, 364, 390, 397.
Rigaud-Pallard, 28, 33.
Rigel, 28.
Roche, 324.

Rochlitz, F., 64, 313, 373.
ROckel, 207.
Roger, Gustave, 357.
Rolla, 62.
Romberg, A., 58.
Romberg, B., 64, 87, 354.
Ronconi, 241.
Ronzi de Begnis, 50.
Roscoe, 74.

Rosen, F., 172, 181, 194.
Rosen, Dr. George, 382, 417.
Rosen, Mrs. George, 384.
Rosenhain, Jacques, 239, 348, 30a, 3*0.
Rossi, Count, 369.
Rossini, 399.
Rothschild, Madame de, 146.



INDEX OF NAMES,



433



Rubini, 167, 301, 305, 343, 349, 35Q.
Rubinstein, Anton. 388. 388.

C ACHSE, 337.

kj Sahr, von, 370.

Salieri, 9, 13, 59.

Salmon, 31, 37.

Sandrini, 33.

Sanklow, 330.

banson, 2y,.

Saphir, 305.

Sartoris, 293, 300, 301.

Sassaroli, 22, 63.

Schall, 154.

Schauroth, D., 53.

Schelble, 56.

Schenck, Dr., 389.

Schicht, Cantor, 19.

Schiller, Miss, 407.

Schindler, 88, 96, 100, 105, ii3, 114, 113,

270, 385-
Schleiermacher, 183.
Schleinitz, 317, 374, 309, 310, 337, 343,

351, 352.
Schenk, Dr., 289.
Schlesinger, 27, 30.
Schloss, Mile., 348.
Schmitt, Aloys, 56.
Schneider, Friedrich, 64, 347, 383.
Schneider, Maschinka, 179.
Schnyder, von VVartensee, 330.
SchOnemann, 332.

Schrey, Adv., 213.
Schroder, Mile., 153.
SchrOder-Devrient, 175, 178, 179, 335,

341, 376, 310, 352, 355.
Schubert, 23.
Schulz, 195.

Schumann, Clara. See Wieck.
Schumann, 16, 212, 214, 315, 234, 271,

374» 310. 337> 347. 353. 359. 3^4. 374.

3S1.
Schumann, Mme., 310, 337, 330, 347,

352, 387-
Schunck, Mme., 371.
Schunck, 81.
Schuppanzig-, 11.
Schuncks, 328, 343.
Schutz, 151.

Schwabe, Frau von, 415.
Schwartz, 158.

Scott, Sir W., 135, 144, 146.
Seebach, Marie, 386.
Seeburg, Dr., 329.
Seeger, Ludwig, 398.
Seguin, E., 204.
Seibold, Professor, 387.
Senff, Barthold, 386.
Servais, 227, 230.
Sessi, Mile., 18.
Shaw, Mrs., 240, 393.
Siddons, Mrs., 46.
Sina, 36.

Sivori, Carlo, 132, 295, 300, 313
Smart, Sir George, 46, 53, 84, 99, 127,
181, 303, 30S.



Sontag, Henriette, 56, 89, 90, 143, 144,

356.
Sophie, Archduchess, 307.
Sor, a guitar-player, 400.
Speier, Wilhelm, 55.
Spohr, 9, 24, 26, 37, 330, 388, 396, 315,

355. 361. 3S8.
Spontini, Chevalier, i30.
Spray, Dr., 78.
Stadler, Abbe, 88.
Staudigl, 2S2, 313, 316, 333.
Stepney, Lady, 199.
Stern, 393,
Stevens, 303.
Stiler, 387.

Stockhausen, Julius, 393.
Stockhausen, Mme., 137, 145.
Stockl-Heinefetter, Frau, 383.
Strauss, 248, 306.
Streicher, 5.
Stumpf, 80, 99.
Sullivan, Arthur, 394, 407.
Sutherland, Duchess of, 350.

TAGLIONI, 167.

i Taylor, 207.

Tadema, Alma, 393.

Thalberg, 86, 226, 229, 334, 335, 338, 343

34S, 3;o, 254, 257, 263, 383, 387, 359.
TS^ij.as, Ambrose, 399.
TuDj^son, Dr., 139.
Thurschmidt, 1S3.
Tibaldi, 63.
Tichatschek, 343.
Tieck, 87.

Titjens, Mile., 390, 415.
Tomaschek, 3.

YALENTINS,37.
Y Vaudemont, Princess, 27.
Velluti, 144.
Vernet, Horace, 31.
Vertpre, Jenny, 334.
Vesque, 316.
Vestris, Mme., 83.
Viardot, Pauline, see Garcia.
Vielhoursky, Michael, 301.
Vieuxtemps, 202, 313.
Vigny, Alfred de, 348.
Vimercati, player on the maudolin,

400.
Vitzthum, 33.
Vivier, 318.
Voss, Julius, 18.
Vrugt, De, 203.

WACH, 18.
Wagner, Richard, 310.

Wallis, Count, 16.

Walther, 343.

Weber, Carl Maria von, 58, 63, 80, 84.

Weber, Frau von, 89, 310.

Weber, Dionys, 3, 63, 376.

Wegeler, Richard, 350.

Weitte, 64.

Wenzel, 363.



434



INDEX OF NAMES.



Werner, Carl, 378.

Westmacott, 294.

Weyse, 154.

Widemann, 359.

Wiecks, the, 1S4, 313.

Wiecke, Clara, 64, 212, 214.

Wild, 215.

Wilkinson, Sir Gardner, 364.

Williams, Miss., 335.

Willmers, R., 336.

Wilson, 37.

Winter, 56.

Wittmann, 310.



Wolff, Professor, 305.
Wranitski-Seidler, 65.

YATES, 146.
Young, C, 46.

ZADRAKHA, 3.
Zelter, 19, 56, 67, 68, 90, ijf,
Zestermann, 349.
Zeuner, 22.

Zimmermann, Professor, 258.
Zucchelli, 153, 205.



THE END.



^\i



SEP. T932 ;



927.8 M85




„ 3 5002 00180 '^qpft

Moscheles, Charlotte Em W^ °^ ^^^^
Recent music and musicians as described



ML 410 . Ma4 Ma2

Moscheles^ Charlo-tte
(Embden)^ d. 1889.

Recent, music and musicians



jhusk; library